Christian Lee returns for first time in 2 years to defend lightweight title at ONE 169 in Atlanta

Christian Lee is back.

The reigning ONE Championship lightweight and welterweight champion is finally ready to resume his career with a fight booked at the ONE 169 card at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 8. On that night, Lee defends his ONE lightweight title against Alibeg Rasulov, who just recently beat former ONE champion Ok Rae Yoon to earn his opportunity at becoming champion.

ONE Championship officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Friday.

Lee’s return comes after he took a long hiatus from the sport following the tragic death of his sister Victoria Lee, who was also early in her career competing at ONE Championship when she passed away in 2022 at just 18 years of age.

Lee and his older sister Angela Lee both took time off from the sport to mourn Victoria’s death and ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong admitted he wasn’t sure either of them would even return to compete again.

While Angela ultimately decided to retire after revealing that her sister Victoria died by suicide and she now wanted to dedicate herself to a new non-profit organization focused on mental health, Christian was adamant about eventually fighting again.

Now he makes his return almost exactly two years after his previous appearance in ONE when he defeated Kiamrian Abbasov to become a two-division champion.

He’ll step right back into deep waters when Lee faces Rasulov, who comes into the fight with a perfect 14-0 record including his debut win in ONE in July.

The ONE card in Atlanta is headlined by heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin defending his belt against Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.