Exclusive | ONE Championship upholds Ok Rae-yoon’s lightweight title win against Christian Lee after formal review
- Asian martial arts promotion’s competition committee conducts review into Ok’s controversial unanimous decision victory at ONE: Revolution
- South Korean took majority of 14 votes because of ‘internal damage’ inflicted against Lee, who visibly tired in fourth and fifth rounds
Ok Rae-yoon’s ONE Championship lightweight title win against Christian Lee has been upheld after a formal review, a source told the Post on Thursday.
The Asian martial arts promotion’s competition committee, which is made up of 14 current and former judges, officials and athletes, looked into the shock unanimous decision win for Ok (16-3) in the main event of last Friday’s ONE: Revolution card, the source said.
The request for a review was made by “The Warrior” Lee (15-4) and his camp, including his father and coach Ken Lee, who was cageside in Singapore.
Support for both fighters was split, with some on the committee believing Lee won the fight because of damage inflicted and effort to produce a finish, which are top of the list in ONE’s judging criteria, the Global Ruleset.
Others are said to have favoured Ok, because of the “internal damage” he caused to Lee, who visibly slowed down in the fourth and fifth rounds and looked tired.
Ok took most of the votes, however, and is still the lightweight champion, with a potential rematch now on the cards – possibly for ONE: X, the organisation’s 10th anniversary show on December 5 – though neither fighter has been formally asked.
