Christian ‘The Warrior’ Lee, the two-division MMA world champion, had his comeback fight stopped dramatically. An accidental eye poke in his bout against Alibeg Rasulov led to the fight being declared a no contest.
Lee, returning after two years away from competition, was defending his ONE lightweight MMA world title as the main event of ONE Fight Night 26 in Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. This was a highly anticipated return for Lee.
Lee holds the record for the most finishes in ONE Championship history with 16. He was aiming for another finish and started the fight strongly.
The 26-year-old Singaporean-American fighter attacked the undefeated challenger Rasulov in the first round. He used jabs, rights, kicks, and step-in knees.
Lee used strikes to set up takedown attempts, but Rasulov, a wrestler from Dagestan, defended well and landed his own crosses.
In the second round, Lee’s pace slowed, and he seemed to tire. Rasulov began to land more jabs, overhand rights, and straight punches.
Towards the end of the second round, Lee unintentionally poked Rasulov in the eye. The ringside doctor examined Rasulov, and the fight was stopped and ruled a no contest.
After the fight, Lee apologized for the accidental eye poke. He stated he wants a rematch with Rasulov in 2025. Lee is also the ONE welterweight MMA world champion.
Bastos Defeats Kelly to Retain Women’s Title
In another title fight, Mayssa Bastos defeated Danielle Kelly again to settle their rivalry. Bastos retained her ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling world championship.
Bastos, who previously beat Kelly in August, was more aggressive at the start of this rematch.
She quickly passed Kelly’s guard and got to the top position. Kelly defended well. Bastos tried for submissions, but Kelly escaped and applied pressure.
In the last two minutes, Bastos increased her attack. She attempted a headlock and a D’Arce choke. Kelly escaped, but Bastos secured a heel hook and won by submission just before the time limit.
Bastos won by unanimous decision and kept her world title.
Other Fight Results from ONE Fight Night 26:
- ONE Lightweight MMA World Title: Christian Lee vs Alibeg Rasulov ended in a no contest
- Flyweight Muay Thai: Kongthoranee Sor Sommai defeats Nakrob Fairtex via unanimous decision
- ONE Women’s Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title: Mayssa Bastos defeats Danielle Kelly via unanimous decision
- Flyweight MMA: Reece McLaren defeats Jarred Brooks via split decision
- Catchweight (138.75 pounds) Muay Thai: Elias Mahmoudi defeats Denis Puric via knockout at 2:58 of round three
- Flyweight MMA: Yuya Wakamatsu defeats Gilbert Nakatani via unanimous decision
- Featherweight MMA: Shamil Gasanov defeats Halil Amir via unanimous decision
- Lightweight Submission Grappling: Cole Abate defeats Shinya Aoki via submission (heel hook) at 2:25 of round one
- Strawweight Kickboxing: Jonathan Di Bella defeats Rui Botelho via unanimous decision
- Lightweight Submission Grappling: Dante Leon defeats Bruno Pucci via submission (triangle armbar) at 2:01 of round one
- Strawweight Muay Thai: Thongpoon PK Saenchai defeats ‘Mini T’ Danial Williams via TKO at 1:10 of round two
Marcus Bellamy