Christian Lee (fighter)

Christian Lee (Chinese: 李胜龙, Korean: 이승용, born June 21, 1998) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions of ONE Championship.[3] He is the current and two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion, as well as the current ONE Welterweight World Champion. Currently holding both belts simultaneously, Lee is the fourth two-division champion in ONE history and holds the promotion's records for most wins (17), most finishes (16), and most knockouts (12). He was also the winner of the 2019 ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix.

Christian Lee
BornChristian Seung Yong Lee
(1998-06-21) June 21, 1998
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Native name李胜龙 (Li Shenglong)
이승용 (Lee Seung-yong)
NicknameThe Warrior
ResidenceWaipahu, Hawaii, U.S.
NationalityAmerican and Canadian
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st)
DivisionFeatherweight (2015–2019)
Lightweight (2019–present)
Welterweight (2022–present)
Reach76 in (193 cm)
StylePankration, Taekwondo, BJJ, Muay Thai, Wrestling
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofTanjong Katong, Singapore
TeamEvolve MMA
United MMA
Rank  Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Mike Fowler[1][2]
Years active2015–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total21
Wins17
By knockout12
By submission4
By decision1
Losses4
By submission1
By decision2
By disqualification1
Notable relativesAngela Lee (Sister)
Victoria Lee (Sister)
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Representing
Hawaii State of Hawaii
Pankration
USA Pankration National Championship
Silver medal – second place 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. -153 lb
Representing
 United States
Pankration
WAPF World Pankration Championship
Gold medal – first place 2012 Laconia, Greece -60 kg
USFL Pankration Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Parker, Arizona, U.S. -140 lb
FILA Grappling World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 London, Ontario -66 kg
Submission Wrestling
FILA Grappling World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 London, Ontario -66 kg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
FILA Grappling World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 London, Ontario -66 kg
Amateur MMA
FILA Grappling World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 London, Ontario -66 kg

On May 17, 2019, Lee defeated Shinya Aoki to win the ONE Lightweight World Championship for the first time. With his older sister Angela already holding the ONE Atomweight World Championship, they became the first brother-sister pair of mixed martial arts world champions.[4][5][6] Their younger sister Victoria was also a mixed martial artist.

Background

Born in Vancouver to a Chinese-Singaporean father and a South Korean-born Canadian mother, Lee moved to Hawaii when he was five years old. As both his parents are decorated martial artists, Lee started training in the sport from a young age. Lee's older sister Angela (born July 8, 1996, in Vancouver) is also an MMA fighter with ONE Championship[7] and his younger brother, Adrian (born in Waipahu), also trains in martial arts. Lee's younger sister Victoria, who was also a mixed martial artist signed to ONE, died in 2022 at the age of 18.

At the 2012 USA Pankration national championships, Lee won two national titles and one silver medal.[8][9] He also won the World Championship in the MMA division at the 2012 World Pangration Athlima Federation Championships.[10][11]

Mixed martial arts career

Lee trains out of United MMA in Waipahu, Hawaii and Evolve MMA in Singapore, alongside his teammate and sister, Angela and her husband (and also his brother-in-law), Bruno Pucci, who also competes in ONE Championship's bantamweight division.

Lee made his amateur debut in 2015 at Star Elite Cage Fighting, where he defeated Avery Sanchis via first-round submission.[12]

ONE Championship

At the age of 17, Lee signed with ONE Championship and made his promotional debut at ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions on December 11, 2015, earning his first career win with a 29-second TKO of David Meak.[13]

Lee followed that up by submitting Mahmoud Deab Mohamed in the first round with a kimura at ONE Championship: Clash Of Heroes on January 29, 2016.[14]

On March 18, 2016, he earned another first-round win against Anthony Engelen at ONE Championship: Union of the Warriors with a TKO stoppage by punches and elbow in a catchweight bout.[15]

At ONE Championship: Ascent To Power on May 6, 2016, Lee improved to 4-0 when he submitted Cary Bullos in the opening round with a brabo choke.[16]

Lee continued his streak of first-round finishes when he stopped Rocky Batolbatol by TKO at ONE Championship: Kingdom Of Champions on May 27, 2016.[17]

In his next match on August 13, 2016, Lee suffered his first professional defeat to rising featherweight Martin Nguyen at ONE Championship: Heroes of the World, losing in the first-round via a guillotine choke.[18]

Lee rebounded by defeating Wan Jianping with a first-round TKO at ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny on April 21, 2017.[19]

For the first time in his career, Lee was pushed to three rounds before finally submitting Keanu Subba with an armbar at ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness on August 18, 2017.[20]

On December 9, 2017, at ONE Championship: Warriors of the World, Lee defeated former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku in the first round by TKO.[21]

Lee submitted Kazunori Yokota in the second round at ONE Championship: Visions of Victory on March 9, 2018 to clinch his fourth straight win.[22]

ONE Featherweight Championship contender

After his strong run of performances, Lee would earn a title shot against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen at ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams on 18 May 2018.[23] Following a five-round back-and-forth battle, Lee would lose by a narrow split-decision, marking his second defeat to the Vietnamese-Australian featherweight.[24]

Lee dropped another match against Filipino Edward Kelly at ONE Championship: Beyond the Horizon on September 8, 2018 after he was disqualified under the promotion's global martial art ruleset.[25] During his takedown of Kelly, Lee was judged to have used an illegal belly-to-back suplex that caused Kelly to land on his head and neck.

He got back on the win sheet against former Pancrase Lightweight Champion Kazuki Tokudome in a 73 kg catchweight bout at ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion on 9 November 2018, defeating the Japanese fighter in the first-round via TKO.[26] The match was added to the card on short notice after his sister Angela Lee, who was scheduled to face Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Strawweight Championship, was forced to pull out due to a back injury.[27]

In his anticipated rematch against Edward Kelly at ONE Championship: Eternal Glory on January 19, 2019, Lee stopped Kelly via first-round TKO and pushed his overall record to 14–3.[28]

ONE Lightweight Champion

Lee agreed to an open challenge for the title from ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki, issued in March 2019 just after Aoki had won the lightweight title himself.[29][30] Lee, a featherweight, would be moving up a division in order to challenge for the belt.[31] On May 17, 2019, at ONE Championship: Enter The Dragon, Lee survived an armbar submission attempt to upset the Japanese grappling legend in the second-round via TKO finish and win his first mixed martial arts world title.[32][33] His victory also made him the youngest ever male mixed martial arts world champion,[4] as well as the first ever brother-sister pair of world champions in the history of mixed martial arts, with his sister Angela Lee holding the ONE Atomweight Championship.[6]

On September 26, 2019, ONE Championship Chairman and founder Chatri Sityodtong announced that Lee had accepted an offer to serve as a late-notice replacement for the injured Eddie Alvarez in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final. The match would be against Turkish finalist Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev at ONE Championship: Century Part I on 13 October 2019, after initial replacement Filipino fighter Edouard Folayang had trouble with visa issues. The late insertion into the event would allow Lee to fight on the same card as his sister Angela Lee, who was defending her atomweight title that night.[34][35] Lee would go on to win by unanimous decision, earning the ONE Lightweight Word Grand Prix Championship.[36]

Lee defended his ONE Lightweight Championship against Iuri Lapicus at ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix on October 30, 2020.[37] After surviving an initial barrage, he won the fight in the first round by TKO via punches on the ground.[38]

Lee next defended his ONE Lightweight Championship against Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE on TNT 2 on April 14, 2021.[39] He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round.[40]

Lee was scheduled to defend his ONE Lightweight World Championship against Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Championship: Revolution on September 24, 2021.[41] Lee lost the fight by a unanimous decision.[42][43] Due to the controversial nature of the decision, it was reviewed by the ONE Competition Committee which ultimately upheld the result.[44][45]

Lee rematched Ok Rae Yoon on August 26, 2022 at ONE 160.[46] Lee recaptured the title after dropping Yoon in the second round and finishing him on the ground with knees.[47] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[48]

ONE Welterweight Champion

Lee moved up to 185 lbs and debuted at welterweight as he challenged for the ONE Welterweight World Championship against reigning champion Kiamrian Abbasov on November 18, 2022 at ONE on Prime Video 4.[49] At weigh-ins, Abbasov missed weight, coming in at 186.25 lbs, 1.25 pounds over the limit. Abbasov was stripped of the title and the bout proceeded at a catchweight with only Lee being able to win the title.[50] He won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round.[51] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award,[52] and made Lee the fourth simultaneous two-division champion in ONE history.

Hiatus

Lee is on hiatus from competition due to the death of his sister, fellow-competitor, Victoria Lee, but has expressed commitment to continue fighting in the future.[53]

Personal life

Lee holds American and Canadian citizenship.

Lee and his wife Katie had their first child in April 2021.[2][54]

Lee's older sister is fellow ONE World Champion Angela Lee, and his younger sister Victoria Lee made her successful professional MMA debut at the age of 16 on February 26, 2021.[55] On January 7, 2023, it was revealed by his sister Angela that Victoria had died on December 26, 2022 at the age of 18.[56][57] On September 19, 2023, his sister Angela confessed that she had attempted suicide in 2017 and that their youngest sister, Victoria had taken her own life in December 2022.[58]

Championships and accomplishments

Pankration
  • World Pangration Athlima Federation (WPAF) World Championship
    • 2012 Agon Men, Cadets, -60 kg — Gold[59]
  • USA Pankration National Championship
    • 2012 Youth, Age 12–13, -153 lb — Silver[60]
  • USFL Pankration Championship
  • FILA Grappling World Championship
    • 2013 Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold[62][64]

Grappling
  • FILA Grappling World Championship
    • 2013 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold[62][64]
  • FILA Grappling World Championship
    • 2013 Submission Wrestling, Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold[62][64]

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
21 matches 17 wins 4 losses
By knockout 12 0
By submission 4 1
By decision 1 2
By disqualification 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 17–4 Kiamrian Abbasov TKO (elbows and punches) ONE on Prime Video 4 November 19, 2022 4 4:20 Kallang, Singapore Welterweight debut. Won the ONE Welterweight Championship (185 lb). Abbasov missed weight (186.25 lb) and was stripped of the title. Only Lee was eligible to win the title. Performance of the Night.
Win 16–4 Ok Rae-yoon TKO (knees) ONE 160 August 26, 2022 2 1:00 Kallang, Singapore Won the ONE Lightweight Championship (170 lb). Performance of the Night.
Loss 15–4 Ok Rae-yoon Decision (unanimous) ONE: Revolution September 24, 2021 5 5:00 Kallang, Singapore Lost the ONE Lightweight Championship (170 lb).
Win 15–3 Timofey Nastyukhin TKO (punches) ONE on TNT 2 April 14, 2021 1 1:13 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Lightweight Championship (170 lb).
Win 14–3 Iuri Lapicus TKO (punches) ONE: Inside the Matrix October 30, 2020 1 2:19 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Lightweight Championship (170 lb).
Win 13–3 Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev Decision (unanimous) ONE: Century – Part 1 October 13, 2019 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan Won the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix.
Win 12–3 Shinya Aoki TKO (punches) ONE: Enter The Dragon May 17, 2019 2 0:51 Kallang, Singapore Lightweight debut. Won the ONE Lightweight Championship (170 lb).
Win 11–3 Edward Kelly TKO (punches) ONE: Eternal Glory January 19, 2019 1 2:53 Jakarta, Indonesia
Win 10–3 Kazuki Tokudome TKO (punches) ONE: Heart of the Lion November 9, 2018 1 3:07 Kallang, Singapore Catchweight (160 lb) bout.
Loss 9–3 Edward Kelly DQ (illegal suplex) ONE: Beyond the Horizon September 8, 2018 1 2:19 Shanghai, China
Loss 9–2 Martin Nguyen Decision (split) ONE: Unstoppable Dreams May 18, 2018 5 5:00 Kallang, Singapore For the ONE Featherweight Championship (155 lb).
Win 9–1 Kazunori Yokota Submission (guillotine choke) ONE: Visions of Victory March 9, 2018 2 4:34 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Win 8–1 Kotetsu Boku TKO (punches) ONE: Warriors of the World December 9, 2017 1 3:24 Bangkok, Thailand
Win 7–1 Keanu Subba Submission (armbar) ONE: Quest for Greatness August 18, 2017 3 1:11 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Win 6–1 Jianping Wan TKO (punches) ONE: Kings of Destiny April 21, 2017 1 4:50 Pasay, Philippines
Loss 5–1 Martin Nguyen Technical Submission (guillotine choke) ONE: Heroes of the World August 13, 2016 1 4:30 Macau, SAR, China
Win 5–0 Rocky Batolbatol TKO (punches) ONE: Kingdom of Champions May 27, 2016 1 2:14 Bangkok, Thailand
Win 4–0 Cary Bullos Submission (brabo choke) ONE: Ascent to Power May 6, 2016 1 2:07 Kallang, Singapore
Win 3–0 Anthony Engelen TKO (punches and elbows) ONE: Union of Warriors March 18, 2016 1 4:14 Yangon, Myanmar Catchweight (160 lb) bout.
Win 2–0 Mahmoud Deab Mohamed Submission (kimura) ONE: Clash of Heroes January 29, 2016 1 2:20 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Win 1–0 David Meak TKO (punches) ONE: Spirit of Champions December 11, 2015 1 0:29 Pasay, Philippines Featherweight debut.

See also

References
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  2. Jesse Holland (November 26, 2020). "ONE vs UFC? Christian Lee confident he can beat any lightweight — even Khabib". mmamania.com.
  3. "Christian Lee Profile". Sherdog.
  4. Lee, David (17 May 2019). "MMA: Christian Lee beats Japan's Shinya Aoki to become One Championship's youngest world champion". The Straits Times.
  5. "The Youngest MMA World Champions in History are Asian Siblings". NextShark. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  6. Atkin, Nick (17 May 2019). "One Championship: Christian Lee stuns Shinya Aoki to win lightweight title on night of huge shocks in Singapore". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  7. "One Championship: Christian Lee steps out of sister Angela's shadow". South China Morning Post. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  8. Paz, Reagan. "Continuing a legacy: The Lee siblings fight their way to gold at world pankration tournament". Trojan Times.
  9. Danilewicz, Jack (26 April 2012). "Mililani's Lee Ohana Keeping Alive Ancient Greek Combat". MidWeek.
  10. "United MMA Instructors". United MMA. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
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  12. "SEC STAR ELITE CAGE FIGHTING". Sherdog.
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  15. Knapp, Brian. "Aung La N Sang Guillotines Mohamed Ali in One Championship 'Union of Warriors' Main Event". Sherdog.
  16. Knapp, Brian. "Angela Lee Takes Atomweight Title in FOTY Contender at One Championship 42". Sherdog.
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  18. Critchfield, Tristen. "Adriano Moraes Submits Tilek Batyrov, Claims Interim 135-Pound Crown at One Championship 45". Sherdog.
  19. "MMA: Philippines' Eduard Folayang retains championship on home soil". ChannelNewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
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  21. Nichols, Jake (10 December 2017). "Christian Lee stops Kotetsu Boku with an incredible slam KO". The Body Lock.
  22. "Christian Lee defeats Kazunori Yokota, makes history in Malaysia". Stadiumastro.
  23. Maralit, Kristina (11 April 2018). "Martin Nguyen makes quick ONE return in match vs. Christian Lee in Singapore". SnippetX.
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  25. Carroll, Peter (8 September 2018). "ONE Championship results: Christian Lee DQ'd for spiking Edward Kelly on his head". MMA Fighting.
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  28. Giongco, Mark (19 January 2019). "ONE: Team Lakay's Edward Kelly stopped by Christian Lee in 1st round of rematch". Inquirer.net.
  29. "Shinya Aoki stares down Christian Lee in Singapore". ASIAMMA. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  30. Jennings, Leon. "Shinya Aoki Surprised By Surprised Reaction To Christian Lee Call Out". Asian Persuasion MMA.
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  46. MMA Junkie Staff (2022-07-07). "Rae Yoon Ok vs. Christian Lee rematch set for ONE Championship 160 main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
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  48. Vince Richards (2022-08-26). "Who went home $50,000 richer at ONE 160? Fight bonus winners". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
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  52. Ben Coate (2022-11-19). "Lee, Alexandre, Kelly Take Home $50K Performance Bonuses At ONE On Prime Video 4". ONE Championship – The Home of Martial Arts. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  53. Angela Lee to retire, Christian Lee to come back, Ken Lee not coaching, retrieved 2023-10-06
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  57. Nolan King (2023-01-07). "ONE Championship rising star Victoria Lee dead at 18". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
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  61. USFL Pankration
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  64. Evolve University
  65. "ONE Championship Double Champion Christian Lee Calls Out Islam Makhachev For Cross-Promotion Superfight". Verdict MMA. 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
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