ONE Championship: Christian Lee wants welterweight title fight with Kiamrian Abbasov ‘by end of the year’
- Lee reclaimed the ONE lightweight title with a second-round stoppage of Ok Rae-yoon last month, and now eyes the welterweight champ Abbasov
- ‘The Warrior’ views the match-up as ‘toughest test’ of his career to date but believes he can ‘get it done’
Christian Lee is once again the ONE Championship lightweight king, but his ambition has not been satisfied.
The Canadian-American was back in action at ONE 160 last month in Singapore, where he avenged a controversial decision loss to South Korea’s Ok Rae-yoon with a second-round TKO, and reclaimed the promotion’s lightweight belt in the process.
Speculation about his first title challenger was immediate, but if he has his way, his next fight will occur outside the lightweight division.
“I would love to test myself against the champion one division up,” Lee, 24, told the Post. “I’m always open to new challenges, and I think that Kiamrian Abbasov would absolutely be the toughest test of my career.”
It remains to be see if Lee (16-4) will get his wish. However, after speaking with ONE, he is optimistic the fight will happen – perhaps even before the year is out.
“We’ve been in talks,” he said. “I just want to see what Kiamrian Abbasov has to say.
“If everything goes according to plan, I’d like to make that happen by the end of the year.”