Christian Lee is now a two-division ONE world champion, but he had to walk through the fire to earn his “champ champ” status.
Lee defeated former welterweight champion Kiamrian Abbasov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 4 at Singapore Indoor Stadium to add the welterweight crown to his lightweight title and become a simultaneous two-division champion in the process.
There was weigh-in drama ahead of the bout when defending champ Abbasov lost his title on the scale after failing to pass his weight and hydration test ahead of fight night. It meant that only Lee was eligible to win the newly-vacated belt, and the 24-year-old did just that with a dramatic come-from-behind performance.
Perhaps stung by losing his title the previous day, Abbasov came out looking like a man wanting to make a statement. The Russian pushed the pace early and looked to have Lee in big trouble as he let fly with a barrage of heavy punches that looked close to finishing the lightweight champion in the opening round.
Lee found his feet in the second stanza, and connected with some stinging shots of his own, while also mixing takedowns into his attack to keep Abbasov guessing in the exchanges.
After something of a stalemate in the third round, Lee exploded into life again in Round 4 as he let fly with more powerful shots. Once again, the fight went to the floor, where Lee continued his onslaught as Abbasov attempted to cover up and avoid damage. But “The Warrior” wouldn’t be denied, and a barrage of unanswered ground and pound eventually convinced referee Herb Dean to wave off the bout.
The co-main event saw Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon retain his flyweight world title with a dominant unanimous decision against strawweight champ Joseph Lasiri.
Lasiri was attempting to accomplish two-division champion status but found the step up to face Rodtang too much to handle as he was dropped twice in the championship rounds against “The Iron Man,” who retained his title in dominant fashion on the scorecards.
It was a bad night at the office for a pair of former bantamweight champions, with both Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon falling to defeats.
Fernandes was outpointed by Filipino Stephen Loman, while Belingon was stopped via first-round TKO by South Korea’s Kim Jae Woong,
ONE Fight Night 4: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Christian Lee def. Kiamrian Abbasov via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 4, 4:20 – for welterweight title
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Joseph Lasiri via unanimous decision – for flyweight Muay Thai title
- Stephen Loman def. Bibiano Fernandes via unanimous decision
- Cosmo Alexandre def. Joan Cervantes via knockout (elbow) – Round 2, 1:23 – Muay Thai
- Kim Jae Woong def. Kevin Belingon via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 2:33
LEAD CARD
- Jonathan Haggerty def. Vladimir Kuzmin via unanimous decision – Muay Thai
- Ruslan Emilbek Uulu def. Isi Fitikefu via split decision
- Daniele Kelly def. Mariia Molchanova via submission (rear-naked choke) – 2:15 – submission grappling
- Liam Nolan def. Eddie Abasolo via unanimous decision – Muay Thai
