ONE MMA two-division world champion Christian Lee retained his crown with a TKO victory over previously undefeated Alibeg Rasulov on A 173 on Saturday, November 16 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The 27-year-old Singaporean-American handed the Turkish sensation his first career loss and successfully defended his ONE Lightweight MMA world title.
Lee weathered an early storm when Rasulov surprised him by shooting for a takedown. The Prodigy Training Center representative showed composure on the mat, getting back to his feet and dissecting the challenger with surgical precision. After being tagged early in the second round, Rasulov desperately shot for another takedown. But Lee was perfectly sprawled out, locked in a tight D’Arce choke and unleashed brutal ground knees that forced the referee to intervene.
The finish earned Lee a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. With 17 stoppages in 18 career victories, the two-division king has established himself as one of MMA’s most prolific finishers.
“I love the ONE Championship rules. I think kneeling in front of an opponent on the ground is MMA in the purest sense of the word. The sport is designed to find out who is the best fighter in the world in any discipline,” Lee said.
Yuya Wakamatsu admits Joshua Pacio turned out to be stronger than expected at ONE 173
Yuya Wakamatsu delivered a statement performance in his first ONE Flyweight MMA world title defense. The 30-year-old Japanese fighter stopped ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio in the second round, denying the Filipino legend’s bid for two-division supremacy.
The finish mirrored Lee’s previous streak. After dropping Pacio with an overhand right, Wakamatsu put the challenger in a headlock and unleashed brutal knees to the head. But the strawweight king’s road to finishing nearly ended in disaster in the opening round.
Wakamatsu’s aggressive nature left him exposed. Pacio caught the defending champion with a devastating left hook that dropped ‘Little Piranha’, forcing him to dig deep into survival mode as the Filipino quickly moved in to capitalize.
The Tribe Tokyo MMA affiliate admitted that Pacio’s strength caught him off guard. Wakamatsu finally understood why his opponent had dominated the strawweight division for years, even as he moved up in weight.
“No, I didn’t feel it [the weight difference] not at all. He was very strong, especially in wrestling,” Wakamatsu said.
“He dropped me with a left hook, but then he came to wrestle, and I was still clearing the cobwebs, but his wrestling felt very strong. But I came in willing to leave it all behind in the first round, and when I was able to get to the side of the turtle [position]I was throwing the ground and pounding as hard as I could,” he said.
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