One Championship: Christian Lee says Eddie Alvarez has to ‘work his way up’ for a title shot
- Lightweight champion is open to defending title against Eduard Folayang if the Filipino beats the former UFC star in Manila
- But Lee doesn’t want to fight on blockbuster Tokyo show – ‘October will be Angela’s moment to shine’
Christian Lee is keen to face the winner of Eduard Folayang and Eddie Alvarez’s blockbuster clash – but feels the former UFC star might have to “work his way up” before getting a title shot, even if he comes out on top in Manila.
“Well, I would love to face the winner of that match, however, I feel that Eduard Folayang, if he is to come out on top, he would definitely be deserving of a shot because he is a two-time lightweight champion. And another win would definitely put him in title contention,” Lee told the Post in Malaysia
“And as much as I’d like to fight Eddie Alvarez as well, I feel like he needs to work his way up a little bit more. Being beat in the grand prix, getting knocked out, coming off a loss.
“As much as I’d like to fight both of those guys, if Eduard Folayang came out on top, I feel he would be the one who deserves a title shot next.”
Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is looking to shake off a shock first-round TKO by Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin on his One debut in Tokyo.
The Asian MMA organisation returns to the Japanese capital for their blockbuster 100th show in October and Alvarez is likely to feature on the card – especially if he beats Folayang.
A trilogy fight against Aoki is a possibility, and it could potentially act as an eliminator for a title shot. “Yeah, definitely, I’d love for that match to happen,” Lee said.
It is a complicated picture in the lightweight division, however, with the final of the lightweight grand prix also set for Tokyo in October. Nastyukhin faces the Philippines’ Honorio Banario in the semi-finals on August 2, with the winner to meet Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev.
That huge Tokyo show will be headlined by Angela Lee’s rematch against Xiong, where she will defend her atomweight title. And her brother is reluctant to steal her spotlight – or compromise her training camp.
“I would absolutely love to share the same card as Angela again, however, October will be Angela’s moment to shine,” Lee said.
“She’ll be going there and defending her belt again. So I think I’ll spend all of my time preparing her for that bout. However, I do plan on staying busy and fighting one more time this year. We’ll see whoever One Championship throws at me next and I’m looking to get in there as quickly as possible.
“The thing is I’m a big part of Angela’s camp and she’s a big part of mine. It’s kind of hard to explain how much goes into the preparation, all the way down to the night of the fight when you have to be there emotionally and physically in their corner.
“I feel like splitting that and dividing it with us both on the card it wouldn’t be fair to each other so I’m just gonna spend all my time focusing on Angela for her fight in October.”
