Christian ‘The Warrior’ Lee, the two-division MMA world champion, experienced an anticlimactic return to the ring. His fight against Alibeg Rasulov was stopped and declared a no contest due to an unintentional eye poke.
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. His comeback was highly anticipated.
Lee holds the record for the most finishes in ONE Championship history with 16. He aimed to extend this record and started the fight strongly.
The 26-year-old Singaporean-American fighter aggressively attacked Rasulov, an undefeated challenger, with jabs, rights, kicks, and knees in the first round.
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 showed signs of fatigue. Rasulov began to land more jabs, overhand rights, and straight punches.
Towards the end of the second round, Lee accidentally poked Rasulov in the eye. The ringside doctor examined Rasulov, and the fight was stopped and declared a no contest.
After the fight, Lee apologized for the accidental foul and expressed his desire for a rematch with Rasulov in 2025. Lee is also the ONE welterweight MMA world champion.
Mayssa Bastos Retains Women’s Title
In another title fight, Mayssa Bastos successfully defended her ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling world title against Danielle Kelly in a rematch.
Bastos, who had previously defeated Kelly in August, was more aggressive at the start of their second match.
She quickly gained a dominant position, but Kelly defended well. Kelly managed to improve her position midway through the match and put pressure on Bastos.
In the final minutes, Bastos intensified her attacks, attempting a headlock and D’Arce choke. Kelly escaped, but Bastos transitioned to a heel hook, securing the submission victory just before the time limit.
Bastos won by unanimous decision, retaining her title.
ONE Fight Night 26 Results:
- 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
