Former lightweight MMA champ Ok Rae Yoon says Lowen Tynanes fight was a make-or-break moment for his career
Former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon returns at ONE Fight Night 23 with a specific goal and source of motivation.
It has been nearly three years since he continued his stellar first year with the promotion by defeating Christian Lee to become the lightweight king. Unfortunately, his incredible run of form in 2021 eventually came to an end in the rematch with Lee one year later as 'The Warrior' reclaimed the throne.
At ONE Fight Night 23 on July 5, he will look to reclaim a piece of the world championship when he fights for interim gold in the main event. However, this wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for his fight in between the Lee rematch and this next outing against Alibeg Rasulov.
At ONE Fight Night 10 in May of last year, he bounced back with a win over Lowen Tynanes that could have had huge implications for his career.
In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Ok revealed how he put the pressure on himself ahead of that fight:
"The fight against Tynanes was after my defeat when I lost my world title. I thought to myself that if I lost, I would no longer be considered a top contender."
Ok Rae Yoon proved that he wasn't done
Fortunately for Ok Rae Yoon, even with that pressure on his shoulders, he came through his fight with Tynanes and secured the win.
You never know how a competitor is going to respond to a setback, and his first defeat came in a massively high-profile rematch for the ONE lightweight MMA world championship.
Now, he will look to continue this path of building his way back to the top by securing the interim title at Lumpinee Stadium.
A win will surely earn him a third fight with Lee to unify the titles in the near future, but until then, Rasulov is his primary focus.
ONE Fight Night 23 will air live in US primetime and is free to watch via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription.