After falling short in his first bid to capture a world championship in the sport, Singaporean contender Christian “The Warrior” Lee returns to the cage to take on Team Lakay featherweight dynamo Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly at ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON on Saturday, 8 September at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai, China.
For the 20-year old star out of Evolve MMA in Singapore, it is a chance to get back on track after suffering just his second career defeat in eleven professional mixed martial arts bouts when he failed to dethrone reigning two-division kingpin Martin Nguyen for the ONE Featherweight World Championship back in May.
Come event night, Lee believes that he and Kelly will be putting on an exciting show for the passionate fans in Shanghai.
Both Lee and Kelly have a knack for finishing their opponents, combining 17 wins via stoppage between the two outstanding featherweight competitors.
“I think that Edward Kelly is a good fighter and a great guy,” Lee shared. “I have been following his career in ONE, and I think we will put up an exciting fight for the fans.”
A lifelong student of martial arts, Lee comes from a family of competitors, with both parents boasting black bets in a variety of disciplines including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo.
Meanwhile, Lee’s older sister Angela is the reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion and is arguably the biggest mixed martial arts star in Asia today.
After making his professional mixed martial arts debut as a high school senior just over two years ago, Lee evolved into one of the best young talents on the ONE Championship roster and a bonafide contender in the featherweight division.
Looking at Lee’s last three bouts, all have come against former or current champions such as reigning ONE Featherweight and Lightweight World Champion Nguyen, former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku and ex-DEEP titleholder Kazunori Yokota, which speaks volumes about the level he is at in his young career.
The well-rounded Lee, whose owns five knockout triumphs and four via submission, believes that he has more tools in his arsenal compared to Kelly.
Being fourteen years Kelly’s junior, Lee will also have youth on his side as he usually does in his matches.
“With all due respect to Edward, I feel that I am deeper in every area of the game,” Lee said.
With Kelly also coming off a loss in his previous bout – a technical knockout defeat at the hands of former ONE Featherweight World Champion Narantungalag “Tungaa” Jadambaa – Lee sees their upcoming contest as a crucial compass as to what the future will hold.
A win puts either man back in the conversation for the ONE Featherweight World Championship picture, while a loss would definitely push either one of them to the back of the line in the talent-filled weight class.
“Absolutely, this is a very important fight for both of our careers. We are definitely going to put on a show,” he guaranteed.
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