WATCH: Christian Lee’s fists of fury unseats Shinya Aoki from lightweight throne
Before reigning two-division ONE MMA world champion Christian Lee makes his long-awaited return to the Circle this fall, ONE Championship is looking back at his iconic lightweight title victory over Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki.
After nearly two years away, 'The Warrior' will step back onto martial arts' biggest global stage on Friday, November 8 when the promotion heads to Atlanta, Georgia for ONE 169.
First, ONE looks back at Lee's iconic victory over 'Tobikan Judan' in May 2019.
"Christian Lee fulfilled a lifelong dream as he clinched the ONE Lightweight World Title in a back-and-forth battle with Shinya Aoki at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON. The Japanese legend came out strong in the early going as he took the Singaporean sensation to the canvas before locking in a tight armbar.
"Lee managed to survive and get back to his feet, and in the second stanza, Aoki attempted to take 'The Warrior' down again. This time, Lee defended the takedown and blasted Aoki with a flurry of hard shots to force the referee to call a stop to the match."
Christian Lee returns to action at ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8
Since his victory over Aoki, Christian Lee has added noteworthy wins against the likes of Dagi Arslanaliev, the late Iuri Lapicus, Timofey Nastyukhin, and Ok Rae Yoon.
In November 2022, he scored perhaps his biggest win yet, KO'ing Kiamrian Abbasov in the fourth round of their Fight of the Year contender at ONE on Prime Video 4 to add the ONE welterweight MMA world championship to his collection.
Now, 'The Warrior' will return to defend his lightweight MMA crown as he is set to square off with undefeated sensation Alibeg Rasulov at ONE 169: Atlanta inside the State Farm Arena.
Making his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 23, Rasulov earned his opportunity at ONE Championship gold with a decisive decision victory over former titleholder Ok Rae Yoon.
Rasulov is a perfect 14-0 in his mixed martial arts career, but he'll be facing an uphill battle against Lee who is more experienced despite being five years younger and carries with him an incredible 94 percent finish rate, including four submissions and a dozen KOs under the ONE banner.
Who leaves Atlanta with the ONE lightweight MMA world title? Follow this link for ONE 169: Atlanta tickets.