Christian Lee anticipates Featherweight World Title – and more – for 2019
At just 20 years of age, ONE Championship featherweight contender Christian “The Warrior” Lee has accumulated quite the impressive amount of highlight-reel performances.
Just three minutes into his most recent match at ONE: Heart of the Lion in November, Lee found himself in an advantageous position over Pancrase Lightweight Champion Kazuki Tokudome.
As soon as he secured full mount, “The Warrior” unleashed a series of explosive punches and elbows to his Japanese adversary before the referee stepped in to stop the bout.
The eruption of joy as he scaled the cage to celebrate would become another noteworthy moment in his young martial arts career.
Finishing the year with a victory was a huge boost of confidence for Lee, who experienced some tough luck in the past several months.
“I’m planning to carry this momentum from 2018 into the next year,” he states. “2019 will be the year I touch gold, starting with the ONE Featherweight World Title.”
More than just a way of life, a total approach to training is how the Singaporean martial arts sensation prepares for every contest.
He meticulously studies tapes of all his opponents’ matches. Knowing how unpredictable bouts are, every move and detail is analyzed to find a competitive advantage.
At the same time, Lee diligently works to improve his entire skill set.
Between that and his all-around preparation, "The Warrior" predicts he will have a blockbuster year.
“As a complete martial artist who focuses on every aspect of the game, 2019 will be full of more exciting finishes including TKOs, KOs, and submissions,” he says.
Lee hopes that will lead to another crack at the ONE Featherweight World Championship, and possibly more.
“The Warrior” proved to be a worthy challenger to reigning champ Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, who has beaten him twice — most recently, at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams in May via split decision.
Now, after two stinging defeats, Lee is confident of claiming victory in a third meeting.
Also, he is confident about capturing a World Title in two separate weight classes.
“My immediate goal is to win the ONE Featherweight World Title,” he explains. “From there, I plan to move up to lightweight and take over the division, winning the belt there as well.
Before “The Warrior” can taste gold, he will have a chance to quench his competitive thirst with an announced rematch against Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly at ONE: Eternal Glory on 19 January in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In what is set to be the first of many battles in the tug of war for team supremacy in ONE Championship, both contenders from Evolve and Team Lakay will be looking to kick off the year with a win for their respective squads.
With their first contest at ONE: Beyond The Horizon in September resulting in a disqualification loss for “The Warrior,” Lee will be looking to redeem himself.
For fans of the Singaporean, they will be hoping another win can help the martial arts prodigy rediscover his form and build a new win streak in 2019 before he challenges for the ONE Featherweight World Title.
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