Twelve months must seem like an eternity when you’re young, and you’ve just started making your mark on the world. So spare a thought for 22-year-old Christian “The Warrior” Lee (13-3), who has waited more than a year to make the first official defence of his ONE Championship lightweight title. And then maybe spare another thought for Iuri Lapicus (14-0), who is likely to bear the brunt of all Lee’s pent-up frustrations at Inside the Matrix in Singapore on October 30, “Every fighter has that time when they face that first defeat and for Iuri this is going to be his,” Lee told SCMP MMA. “With the momentum from his last two finishes I feel like he’s going to come out guns blazing, trying to take my head off. I’m fully ready for that. I’m excited. I feel like he’s really going to bring the fight to me but that’s what I crave. That’s what I love the most and it’s what I have been waiting for over this past year, every single day.” Lee claimed the lightweight belt with a demolition job of veteran Japanese star Shinya Aoki (45-9, one no contest) in Singapore last May. The Hawaii-based fighter took the gig after a surprise call-out from Aoki and then surprised many again by first escaping the clutches of a “Tobikan Judan” armbar, then laying Aoki out for the TKO in the second round. Lee had fought for a title before – at what had been his more natural featherweight – and lost via split decision to Vietnamese-Australian champ Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen (13-3) in 2018. Still, Lee saw the opportunity up a division and grabbed it, and it was much the same scenario when he was a late call-up at Century Part 1 in Tokyo last October, replacing injured American Eddie Alvarez (30-7, one no contest) in the final of ONE’s lightweight grand prix tournament, against Dagestan’s Saygid “Dagi” Arslanaliev (8-2). ONE: Aung La will refuse immediate rematch if De Ridder wins Same quick decision to take on the challenge. Same result as Lee took the decision with surprising ease after five rounds. “I got that title shot on short notice and I’d always been a featherweight before that, so there were many critics saying I was still a featherweight,” says Lee. “So taking that match, when Dagi was finishing everyone left and right, against the guy who was the number one contender, it definitely felt like my first title defence. “It was my way of putting a stamp on the lightweight division and showing everyone who’s the boss there. So yeah, it’s been a year – and I can’t wait to get back in there.” Lee has spent those months back home in Hawaii, working out at his family’s gym, as the Covid-19 pandemic limited opportunities for fighters living outside Asia. But Inside the Matrix has the promotion back in full swing, with four world titles up for grabs. “It’s been a long lay-off, which has been good, but I’m definitely excited to step back into the cage again,” says Lee. “For me, thankfully it’s been injury free so far. I’ve been able to have a great camp. We’ve had our gym closed so I’ve been able to focus on myself and it’s been great.” Lee revealed he has been growing into his new weight division, up from the 70.3kg limit at featherweight to lightweight’s max of 77.1kg, and he sees the move upwards as a natural progression over time, with perhaps more yet to come. “I’m continuing to grow and the weight is settling in easily,” he says. “So 170 [lightweight] is already harder to make this year than last year, but definitely this will be my division for the next while. But I would never put welterweight [83.9kg max] out of the picture. I can see that there in the future.” In the No 1-ranked Lapicus Lee faces a fighter who has submitted two opponents since crossing over to ONE from the European leagues where he’d rattled off 12 straight first-round finishes. “Iuri is very dangerous,” says Lee of the 25-year-old Italy-based fighter. “He’s undefeated, he’s finished every opponent, and from what I can see he’s got a similar mindset to myself. He thinks he’s going to finish and he’s looking to get that done as quickly as possible.” But Lee is welcoming the challenge. “I feel like as the champ I am sitting at the top and I’m looking to take out every single one of those contenders in the lightweight division,” he says. “For me, the target is on their backs. I’m just here defending my throne and I’m looking forward to working my way down the line, from number one until there is no one left.”