Christian Lee Returns To Defend Lightweight MMA World Title Against Alibeg Rasulov At ONE 169: Atlanta
Two-division king Christian “The Warrior” Lee‘s eagerly anticipated return will come in a massive ONE Lightweight MMA World Title showdown at ONE 169: Atlanta.
After two years away from competition, the 26-year-old Singaporean-American will defend his gold against undefeated challenger Alibeg Rasulov on Friday, November 8.
The bout adds more star power to ONE Championship’s first outing in Atlanta, Georgia, with the city’s State Farm Arena playing host to a stacked card that will thrill the American crowd live in U.S. primetime.
Lee hasn’t competed since he defeated Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE Welterweight MMA World Title at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November 2022.
“The Warrior” took a step back following the loss of his younger sister Victoria Lee in December of that year, but now he’s ready to get back to business.
The Hawaii-based athlete is in his second reign as the ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion after emphatically redeeming his loss to Ok Rae Yoon in August 2022.
Lee has won eight of his last nine outings – including the ONE Lightweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship Final in October 2019.
During that run, he stopped seven of his opponents by TKO.
Incredibly, despite his time away, Lee still has the most wins (17) and most finishes (16) in ONE history.
Rasulov has a big test ahead of him, but he displayed his world-class skill set with a recent victory over Ok at ONE Fight Night 23.
The Turkish athlete was due to compete for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Title on July 5, but he didn’t make weight and pass hydration during the official time window, which rendered him ineligible to win the belt.
However, Rasulov used his strong wrestling, clinch work, and inside striking to defeat the former divisional kingpin, impressing enough to get the next shot at Lee anyway.
Now standing at an impressive 14-0 with 10 stoppages, the Hyperion Fighters representative only knows how to achieve victory, and that confidence will be a good foundation to challenge Lee on November 8.
Fans have been clamoring to see “The Warrior” back inside the Circle, and they’ll get their wish with this fascinating battle in the ATL.
The clash for lightweight MMA supremacy adds to the two previously announced World Championship bouts at ONE 169: Atlanta.
Three-division king Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin defends his ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane, and Tawanchai PK Saenchai puts his ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title on the line in a trilogy match against local favorite “Smokin” Jo Nattawut.
Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news about ONE 169: Atlanta.
