Christian Lee Relives His Victory And Shares Next Possible Challenge
On Sunday, 13 October, ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee’s performance against Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev at ONE: CENTURY PART I turned heads inside the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
The Singaporean came in as a last-minute replacement for the injured Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final.
The reigning World Champion had little qualms about accepting the match on short notice, and it showed in his performance.
Lee dominated his Turkish adversary over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision win.
“I’ve been saying it all week, ever since I got the fight. As the champion, I should be ready to face any opponent at any time, and that’s what I did. I took on a dangerous opponent and got the win after three rounds,” the 21-year-old said.
In the aftermath of their three-round war, the intensity was obvious on the face of an exhausted Lee.
“I had 10 days to prepare for this bout. My game plan was there, we created a quick strategy for this opponent, but as you could see – the camera probably caught it, me throwing up after the fight – I left everything in there,” he said.
Going against an opponent like “Dagi” with just a tight window to prepare, the United MMA and Evolve MMA product knew he had his work cut out for him.
Arslanaliev cut his own stunning path into the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final with consecutive first-round knockout wins over Ev “E.V” Ting and Amir Khan.
Considering the circumstances, many had expected “Dagi” to pose a serious threat to the Singaporean.
However, “The Warrior” believed his commitment to training year-round had prepared him for this very encounter.
“I give 100 percent of the credit to my team, to the work that we put in at our gym,” Lee said. “I had to dig deep, but that’s already in me. The hard work was what really won me the fight, and that’s what I put in every day in the gym.”
For months prior, the Hawaii-stationed athlete trained daily alongside his older sister “Unstoppable” Angela Lee to prepare for her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title defense against “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan at ONE: CENTURY.
But whether they are scheduled to compete or not, the Lee siblings always stay prepared.
“My sister and I are in the gym year-round, even when we don’t have a fight booked. That’s the way we live our lives,” he said.
Now that he has added the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship belt to his trophy case, “The Warrior” is looking forward to new challenges.
The Singaporean hero is proud to be a part of ONE’s first-ever live TV broadcast in the USA, and now he wants to spearhead The Home Of Martial Arts’ plans to move into North America in 2020.
To achieve that, Lee singled out an opponent who he believes could be a big draw.
“There are a lot of [lightweights] worthy of being the contender, but as we’re doing the first show live on TNT in the US, I’d love to see a show in New York City against Eddie Alvarez, or even in Hawaii,” Lee said.
“I think that the fans would be very excited to see a match with Eddie Alvarez in the US, and I would love to be the first person to bring ONE Championship to the United States, so I could see that being next.”
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