Christian Lee ( zh, 李胜龙, , born June 21, 1998) is a Canadian-born American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

and

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

divisions of

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. He is the current and two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion, as well as the current ONE Welterweight World Champion. Currently holding both belts simultaneously, Lee is the fourth two-division champion in ONE history and holds the promotion's records for most wins (17), most finishes (16), and most knockouts (12). He was also the winner of the 2019 ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. On May 17, 2019, Lee defeated

Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler competing in ONE Championship's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Extreme Champion. A professional competit ...

to win the ONE Lightweight World Championship for the first time. With his older sister Angela already holding the ONE Atomweight World Championship, they became the first brother-sister pair of mixed martial arts world champions. Their younger sister

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

was also a mixed martial artist.

Background

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to a Chinese-Singaporean father and a South Korean-born Canadian mother, Lee moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

when he was five years old. As both his parents are decorated martial artists, Lee started training in the sport from a young age. Lee's older sister Angela (born July 8, 1996, in Vancouver) is also an MMA fighter with ONE Championship and his younger brother, Adrian (born in

Waipahu Waipahu () is a former sugarcane Sugar plantations in Hawaii, plantation town and now census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District on the island of Oahu, Oahu in the Honolulu County, Hawaii, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawai ...

), also trains in martial arts. Lee's younger sister

, who was also a mixed martial artist signed to ONE, died in 2022 at the age of 18. At the 2012 USA Pankration national championships, Lee won two national titles and one silver medal. He also won the World Championship in the MMA division at the 2012 World Pangration Athlima Federation Championships.

Mixed martial arts career

Lee trains out of United MMA in Waipahu, Hawaii and Evolve MMA in Singapore, alongside his teammate and sister, Angela and her husband (and also his brother-in-law),

Bruno Pucci Bruno Francisco Vicentini Pucci (born July 23, 1990) known professionally as Bruno Pucci is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who holds a black belt and is best known for winning gold in the featherweight division at the 2009 and ...

, who also competes in ONE Championship's bantamweight division. Lee made his amateur debut in 2015 at Star Elite Cage Fighting, where he defeated Avery Sanchis via first-round submission.

ONE Championship

At the age of 17, Lee signed with

and made his promotional debut at ONE: Spirit of Champions on December 11, 2015, earning his first career win with a 29-second TKO of David Meak. Lee followed that up by submitting Mahmoud Deab Mohamed in the first round with a kimura at ONE: Clash Of Heroes on January 29, 2016. On March 18, 2016, he earned another first-round win against Anthony Engelen at ONE: Union of the Warriors with a TKO stoppage by punches and elbow in a

catchweight A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...

bout. At ONE: Ascent To Power on May 6, 2016, Lee improved to 4-0 when he submitted Cary Bullos in the opening round with a brabo choke. Lee continued his streak of first-round finishes when he stopped Rocky Batolbatol by TKO at ONE: Kingdom Of Champions on May 27, 2016. In his next match on August 13, 2016, Lee suffered his first professional defeat to rising featherweight Martin Nguyen at ONE Championship: Heroes of the World, losing in the first-round via a guillotine choke. Lee rebounded by defeating Wan Jianping with a first-round TKO at ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny on April 21, 2017. For the first time in his career, Lee was pushed to three rounds before finally submitting Keanu Subba with an armbar at ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness on August 18, 2017. On December 9, 2017, at ONE Championship: Warriors of the World, Lee defeated former ONE Lightweight World Champion

Kotetsu Boku Park Kwang-cheol (), better known by his Japanese name , is a retired Japanese-born South Korean mixed martial artist and kickboxer, competing in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. He has mostly fought in Shooto, where ...

in the first round by TKO. Lee submitted

Kazunori Yokota is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka. Yokota fought for the Japanese MMA promotions DEEP and WVR Sengoku. Career and background Yokota has a background in Judo and fights for Team Grabaka with notable training partners such as Akih ...

in the second round at ONE Championship: Visions of Victory on March 9, 2018, to clinch his fourth straight win.

ONE Featherweight Championship contender

After his strong run of performances, Lee would earn a title shot against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen at ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams on 18 May 2018. Following a five-round back-and-forth battle, Lee would lose by a narrow split-decision, marking his second defeat to the Vietnamese-Australian featherweight. Lee dropped another match against Filipino Edward Kelly at ONE Championship: Beyond the Horizon on September 8, 2018, after he was disqualified under the promotion's global martial art ruleset. During his takedown of Kelly, Lee was judged to have used an illegal belly-to-back suplex that caused Kelly to land on his head and neck. He got back on the win sheet against former

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

Lightweight Champion

Kazuki Tokudome is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed in Pancrase, Sengoku Raiden Championships and the Ultimate Fighting ...

in a 73 kg catchweight bout at ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion on 9 November 2018, defeating the Japanese fighter in the first-round via TKO. The match was added to the card on short notice after his sister

Angela Lee Angela Seung Ju Pucci (née Lee, zh, 李胜珠, , born July 8, 1996), also known as Angela Lee Pucci, is a Canadian-born American combat sports mental health advocate and former professional mixed martial artist. She competed in the atomwei ...

, who was scheduled to face Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Strawweight Championship, was forced to pull out due to a back injury. In his anticipated rematch against Edward Kelly at ONE Championship: Eternal Glory on January 19, 2019, Lee stopped Kelly via first-round TKO and pushed his overall record to 14–3.

ONE Lightweight Champion

Lee agreed to an open challenge for the title from ONE Lightweight World Champion

, issued in March 2019 just after Aoki had won the lightweight title himself. Lee, a featherweight, would be moving up a division in order to challenge for the belt. On May 17, 2019, at ONE Championship: Enter The Dragon, Lee survived an armbar submission attempt to upset the Japanese grappling legend in the second-round via TKO finish and win his first mixed martial arts world title. His victory also made him the youngest ever male mixed martial arts world champion, as well as the first ever brother-sister pair of world champions in the history of mixed martial arts, with his sister

holding the ONE Atomweight Championship. On September 26, 2019, ONE Championship Chairman and founder

Chatri Sityodtong Chatri Trisiripisal (, ), known by the ring names Chatri Sityodtong (, ) and Yodchatri Sityodtong (, ), is a Thai entrepreneur and martial arts instructor based in Singapore. He is best known for being the founder, chairman, and chief executive ...

announced that Lee had accepted an offer to serve as a late-notice replacement for the injured

Eddie Alvarez Edward Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championsh ...

in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Final. The match would be against Turkish finalist Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev at ONE: Century – Part 1 on 13 October 2019, after initial replacement Filipino fighter

Eduard Folayang Eduard Ayangwa Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino professional mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who competes in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Ch ...

had trouble with visa issues. The late insertion into the event would allow Lee to fight on the same card as his sister

, who was defending her atomweight title that night. Lee would go on to win by unanimous decision, earning the ONE Lightweight Word Grand Prix Championship. In the first title defense, Lee faced Iuri Lapicus at ONE: Inside the Matrix on October 30, 2020. After surviving an initial barrage, he won the fight in the first round by TKO via punches on the ground. In the second title defense, Lee faced Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE on TNT 2 on April 14, 2021. He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round. In the third title defense, Lee faced

Ok Rae-yoon Ok Rae-yoon (, born March 23, 1991) is a South Korean mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. He is a former ONE Lightweight World Champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Ok started his ...

at ONE: Revolution on September 24, 2021. Lee lost the fight by a unanimous decision. Due to the controversial nature of the decision, it was reviewed by the ONE Competition Committee which ultimately upheld the result. The rematch between Lee and Ok for the ONE Lightweight World Championship took place on August 26, 2022, at

ONE 160 ''ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee 2'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on August 26, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A List of ONE Championship champions#Lightweight World Champion ...

. Lee recaptured the title after dropping Yoon in the second round and finishing him on the ground with knees. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award.

ONE Welterweight Champion

Lee moved up to 185 lbs and debuted at welterweight as he challenged for the

ONE Welterweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align=center , 7 , - ! align=left , Atomweight , Denice Zamboan ...

against reigning champion Kiamrian Abbasov on November 18, 2022, at

ONE on Prime Video 4 ''ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee'' (also known as ''ONE Fight Night 4'') was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on November 19, 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background The or ...

. At weigh-ins, Abbasov missed weight, coming in at 186.25 lbs, 1.25 pounds over the limit. Abbasov was stripped of the title and the bout proceeded at a catchweight with only Lee being able to win the title. He won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award, and made Lee the fourth simultaneous two-division champion in ONE history.

Hiatus

Lee is on hiatus from competition due to the death of his sister, fellow-competitor, Victoria Lee, but has expressed commitment to continue fighting in the future. After a two-years hiatus, Lee was scheduled to face Alibeg Rasulov on November 9, 2024, at ONE 169. However, it was announced that the bout was moved to

ONE Fight Night 26 ''ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background A ONE Lightweight World Championship bout between ...

on December 7 for unknown reasons. During the round two, Lee poked Rasulov in the eye rendering him unable to continue. The fight was declared a no contest.

Personal life

Lee holds American and Canadian citizenship. Lee and his wife Katie had their first child in April 2021. Lee's older sister is fellow ONE World Champion

, and his younger sister Victoria Lee made her successful professional MMA debut at the age of 16 on February 26, 2021. On January 7, 2023, it was revealed by his sister Angela that Victoria had died on December 26, 2022, at the age of 18. On September 19, 2023, his sister Angela confessed that she had attempted suicide in 2017 and that their youngest sister, Victoria had taken her own life in December 2022. Lee's younger brother Adrian Lee made his MMA debut for One Fighting Championship in 2024.

Championships and accomplishments

Pankration

* World Pangration Athlima Federation (WPAF) World Championship **2012 Agon Men, Cadets, -60 kg — Gold *USA Pankration National Championship **2012 Youth, Age 12–13, -153 lb — Silver *USFL Pankration Championship **2013 Junior, Age 14–17, -140 lb — GoldTrojan Times
/ref> *FILA Grappling World Championship **2013 Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold

Grappling

FILA Fila (; ) is a South Korean-owned athleisure brand headquartered in Seoul. The company was originally founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Italy. Fila Korea acquired the brand in 2007 and launched its initial p ...

Grappling World Championship **2013 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold *FILA Grappling World Championship **2013 Submission Wrestling, Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — Gold

Mixed martial arts

** ONE Lightweight World Championship (Two times, current) ***Two successful title defenses **

(One time, current) ** 2019 ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Tournament Winner ** Most wins in ONE history (17) ** Most finishes in ONE history (16) ** Most knockouts in ONE history (12) ** Performance of the Night (Two time) **Fourth double champion in ONE history *FILA Grappling World Championship **2013 Amateur MMA, Boys, Age 14–15, -66 kg — GoldEvolve University
/ref>

Mixed martial arts record

, - , NC , align=center, , Alibeg Rasulov , NC (accidental eye poke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 , Kiamrian Abbasov , TKO (elbows and punches) ,

, , align=center, 4 , align=center, 4:20 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 ,

, TKO (knees) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Revolution , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Singapore , , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Timofey Nastyukhin , TKO (punches) , ONE on TNT 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:13 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Iuri Lapicus , TKO (punches) , ONE: Inside the Matrix , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev , Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Century – Part 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Enter The Dragon , , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:51 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Edward Kelly , TKO (punches) , ONE: Eternal Glory , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Heart of the Lion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Edward Kelly , DQ (illegal suplex) , ONE: Beyond the Horizon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Martin Nguyen , Decision (split) , ONE: Unstoppable Dreams , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , ONE: Visions of Victory , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, KO (slam) , ONE: Warriors of the World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:24 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Keanu Subba , Submission (triangle armbar) , ONE: Quest for Greatness , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:11 ,

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Wan Jianping , TKO (elbows and punches) , ONE: Kings of Destiny , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:50 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Martin Nguyen , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , ONE: Heroes of the World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, SAR, China , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Rocky Batolbatol , TKO (submission to punches) , ONE: Kingdom of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Cary Bullos , Submission (brabo choke) , ONE: Ascent to Power , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Anthony Engelen , TKO (punches and elbows) , ONE: Union of Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:14 ,

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, Myanmar , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mahmoud Deab Mohamed , Submission (kimura) , ONE: Clash of Heroes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 ,

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , David Meak , KO (punches) , ONE: Spirit of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

, Philippines , , -

References

External links

Christian Lee
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...