What could be next for Christian Lee? 

Two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Christian Lee’s return at ONE Fight Night 26 got off to a fiery start, but his fire was soon dowsed.  

The ONE Lightweight MMA World Title encounter in the main event on Friday, December 6, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium came to a close in the second frame after an inadvertent eye poke to Lee’s challenger Alibeg Rasulov. 

The no contest outcome certainly wasn’t what Lee had in mind. Now it leaves him with another option as he looks ahead to a busier 2025.  

With that said, what is next for “The Warrior?”

As a two-weight ONE MMA king, Lee has had many challengers awaiting his return. But the 26-year-old could look to have a quick turnaround and defend his lightweight gold against Rasulov once more.  

The first few months of ONE Championship’s 2025 calendar are already filling up with three huge events in ONE 170 in January, and ONE 171: Qatar in February, and ONE 172 in Japan in March. Lee could certainly feature in one of these events. 

And now that both men have had a chance to test the waters against one another, the rematch will be closer than ever.

Christian Lee confident he was winning before accidental eye poke at ONE Fight Night 26

After two arduous years away from the ring, two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Christian Lee felt like he was back at his best in ONE Fight Night 26’s huge headline attraction. 

“The Warrior” believes there were no signs of ring rust in his long-awaited return. He let loose with multiple spinning kicks, explosive punches, and heavy pressure across two rounds. In fact, he believed he was en route to victory.  

“I feel like I was winning the fight. I feel like I was landing the bigger shots,” Lee said.  

“I was pushing forward while controlling the action in the ring. I feel like I was on track to wearing him down and taking him out.”