Initially slated to appear on the ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug card on November 9, “The Warrior” will now defend the ONE lightweight MMA World Title against Alibeg Rasulov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 26 on Saturday, December 7, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.
ONE Championship fans have seen Lee grow across his promotional tenure. At only 26 years old, he’s competed a staggering 21 times in nine years with the world’s largest martial arts organization and achieved more than most. He’s also got the most knockouts in the promotions with eight.
The Singaporean-American first ascended to the lightweight MMA throne by scoring a stoppage win over Japanese icon Shinya Aoki in 2019 at ONE: Enter the Dragon, and he defended the belt on three occasions before dropping it against Ok Rae Yoon via unanimous decision at ONE: Revolution in September 2021.
However, “The Warrior” showed the world that was a mere blip when he reclaimed the coveted strap via knockout in his rematch with Ok 12 months later at ONE 160.
Lee’s insatiable hunger then saw him venture up to welterweight to challenge divisional king Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November 2022.
It was there that he showed his true grit by battling back from an early knockdown to stop Abbasov in the fourth round and claim his second World Title.
Not many would debate “The Warrior’s” superstar status, but it’s undeniable that the lightweight MMA landscape has changed in his absence. And his upcoming foe, Rasulov, has emerged as a genuine threat in the stacked division.
The Dagestani-born star arrived in ONE Championship with an unblemished slate of 12-0, with 10 finishes, and he showed what he was made of in his first and thus far only promotional appearance at ONE Fight Night 23 this past July.
Rasulov’s star quality was put to the test right away when he was given Lee’s old rival Ok as his first opponent. But the South Korean’s world champion pedigree meant little to the debuting star as he pieced him up across five rounds to grab the unanimous decision win and announce himself to ONE’s global fanbase.
The Russian star will be at his most dangerous when he steps into action on December 7, and he’ll be out to spoil the world champion’s return in empathic fashion.
However, Lee has been waiting a long time to reintroduce himself to the world, so he’ll have every one of his weapons on show in the hopes of retaining the ONE Lightweight MMA World Title.
Both of those factors mean their matchup will be unmissable when it goes down at ONE Fight Night 26.
More bouts are expected to be announced for the thrilling show in the coming weeks.
