Christian Lee loses long-time ONE Lightweight World Title to Ok Rae Yoon, as sibling Victoria Lee continues astronomical rise with win by stoppage over Victoria Souza
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25 September 2021, Singapore - It was a night of mixed fortunes for local favourites Christian Lee and Victoria Lee at ONE: Revolution, as South Korea's Ok Rae Yoon pulled off an upset to strip Christian Lee of his ONE Lightweight World Title in a five-round fight that brought the evening to an epic climax.
In what was the first ONE event opened to public with post-vaccination measures, some 500 spectators at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were treated to a stacked card which featured three World Title fights, which was headlined by Christian Lee and Ok Rae Yoon in the ONE: Revolution main event and saw 'The Warrior' Lee surrender his long time world title to Ok, in spite of asking for the result to be overturned in controversial circumstances.
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Up to yesterday, Christian Lee had stood on the brink of clearing out the top five contenders in the division, but Korean veteran Ok Rae Yoon, who has already earned himself a reputation of being an upset king, added another big name to his string of conquests having recently earned a hard-fought victory over Eddie Alvarez.
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Christian's younger sister Victoria Lee continued her perfect streak after overcoming Brazilian star Victoria Souza to make it 3-0 since she made her ONE bow in February, building on the Lee family's legacy in the Championships and following in the footsteps of her older sister Angela Lee, ONE Women's Atomweight world champion.
Undefeated atomweight athlete Victoria Souza was ready to prove why she belongs on the global stage of martial arts in her ONE bow, and said before the event that "all the pressure" was on Lee, which made for an interesting evening with many curious about which way the match-up would go.
Christian LEE vs OK Rae Yoon (Ok wins via Unanimous Decision)
Ok came out in his usual counterpunching style. Conversely, Lee was fast, sharp, and powerful to start the bout, connecting with a plethora of right hands while scoring on takedowns. Ok weathered the early storm from the young Singaporean-American, and he got stronger as the bout wore on.
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In the third round, Ok rocked Lee, sending him reeling across the Circle. A counter right hand from Lee dropped the South Korean, and toward the end of the frame, "The Warrior" took Ok's back and locked in a rear-naked choke under the chin.
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The South Korean survived that submission attempt and turned it into a war for the final two rounds, with both men having their moments. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Ok to win by unanimous decision, as the new ONE Lightweight World Champion hoisted the belt up on his shoulders.
Victoria LEE vs Victoria SOUZA (Lee wins via TKO at 3:58 of Round 2)
Teenage sensation Victoria Lee moved to 3-0 as a professional mixed martial artist in ONE's atomweight division, earning a TKO victory behind a dominant performance over newcomer Victoria Souza, before insisting that she will "keep on improving" for her next match.
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"I feel I've improved since my previous fights, I showcased some of my ground-and-pound skills and tightened up my overall game," said Lee.
Lee and Souza traded strikes to open the first round, but it wasn't long before the two atomweights brought the action onto the ground, in a battle which once again saw 'The Prodigy' Lee shine.
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In the second round, the 17-year-old unleashed a barrage of elbows from top position to force the stoppage, before punching the air in jubilation after adding her third victory since her debut in February this year.
Here are the Official Results for ONE: REVOLUTION
Mixed Martial Arts - Lightweight:
Ok Rae Yoon def. Christian Lee via Unanimous Decision
Kickboxing - Bantamweight:
Capitan Petchyindee Academy def. Mehdi Zatout via Unanimous Decision
Mixed Martial Arts - Strawweight:
Joshua Pacio def. Yosuke Saruta via TKO at 3:38 of Round 1
Mixed Martial Arts - Featherweight:
Kim Jae Woong def. Martin Nguyen via KO at 3:15 of Round 1
Mixed Martial Arts - Heavyweight:
Anatoly Malykhin def. Amir Aliakbari via KO at 2:57 of Round 1
Mixed Martial Arts - Atomweight:
Victoria Lee def. Victoria Souza via TKO at 3:58 of Round 2
Mixed Martial Arts - Strawweight:
Lito Adiwang def. Hexigetu via Unanimous Decision
Muay Thai - Flyweight:
Taiki Naito def. Petchdam Petchyindee Academy via Split Decision
Mixed Martial Arts - Heavyweight:
Marcus Almeida def. Anderson Silva via Submission (North-south Choke) at 2:55 of Round 1
Kickboxing - Bantamweight:
Petchtanong Petchfergus def. Zhang Chenglong via Unanimous Decision
Mixed Martial Arts - Featherweight:
James Yang def. Roel Rosauro via TKO at 2:00 of Round 2