One Championship: Christian Lee steps out of sister Angela Lee’s shadow with star-making show
- The 21-year-old puts on a star-making performance to win the lightweight grand prix by nullifying Dagi Arslanaliev in Tokyo final
- ‘Even though I’m champion, people were believing the hype, they thought he was untouchable’
It’s perhaps harsh to say Christian Lee had something to prove when he stepped into the One Championship circle against Dagi Arslanaliev.
He was already the lightweight champion, and had stepped in on 10 days’ notice to face a dangerous opponent in the final of the division’s grand prix tournament at Century Part 1 in Tokyo.
Dagi was 8-1 in MMA, his only loss a disqualification and all his wins finishes, and mostly in the first round.
“Even though I’m the champion, people were believing the hype [about Dagi],” he told BJPenn.com post-fight. “They thought he was untouchable. They thought if he touches you, you go to sleep, but I could see past it.
“I respect him, I respect his skills, he’s a very tough fighter, but I knew that if I could just weather the storm and implement my game plan, I would be able to beat him and that’s what happened tonight.”
