Christian Lee regained his ONE Championship 170-pound belt on Friday night, scoring a second-round stoppage victory over Ok Rae Yoon.
The victory headlined “ONE 160,” which took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Lee finished a dominant performance against Ok in the second round with a brutal combination of strikes. The exchange started with an overhand right from Lee that earned him a knockdown. Sensing a finish coming, Lee landed a series of knees to the head of Ok to end the fight.
Lee had an incredibly successful first round, coming close to a finish prior to the ending exchange a frame later. He specifically scored two knockdowns in the fourth minute of the round, seating Ok twice with right cross punches.
The performance kicked off Lee’s second run as champion. His previous reign was suddenly stopped by Ok in 2021, as the rising Korean talent was able to score a unanimous decision over him.
That 2021 result was controversially denied by Lee, who argued that the bout should be overturned and that judges scored the fight incorrectly. While the 2021 result remains official, Lee can now say he has avenged that loss and is back on top of the division.
Lee’s prior run as champion lasted two years, and saw him defend his belt twice.
Tang Out-Performs Le To Earn Championship
Tang Kai dethroned 155-pound champion Thanh Le in the co-main event of Friday’s card, going five rounds for a unanimous decision victory.
Tang put together a stellar performance to become champion. He stood with Le for all five rounds, using a diverse set of strikes to gain a comfortable lead in the fight.
Tang was able to connect with leg kicks throughout the fight, landing against Le early and continuing to score with the shots into the late rounds. His boxing was also successful against Le, landing singular shots during exchanges.
Tang’s best moment was in the fourth round, as he was able to visibly wobble Le with a left hook. Apart from that time, Le was able to mostly avoid alarming moments in the battle.
The loss was a different type of fight than Le was used to. The former titleholder had never gone the distance in a fight before, with all of his previous ONE fights ending via finish.
Le entered the bout with the goal of defending his belt for the second time. His previous fight was just 56 seconds, defeating Garry Tonon in March.
Now champion, Tang has put together an incredibly strong run since joining ONE in early 2019. Friday marked his seventh win since entering the promotion, and 10th consecutive victory overall as a pro.
Saemapetch Shows Strengths In Rematch
Saemapetch Fairtex avenged his loss against Rittewada Petchyindee Academy under Muay Thai rules, stopping him in the second round with an explosive shot.
Saemapetch needed just one knockdown to earn a win. He dropped Rittewada down with an overhand left in the second round causing, the referee to end the fight.
Saemapetch took a loss in late 2021 against Rittewada. While he succeeded on the feet in that first meeting, a doctor stoppage in the second round caused Saemapetch to lose.
Saemapetch had taken another loss since then as well, getting stopped in January by Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym.
Following his win, Saemapetch called for a title shot on Friday night.
Subba Stops Khan Early
Keanu Subba beat fellow ONE vet Amir Khan on Friday’s main card, connecting with a series of explosive punches to cause their fight to end.
Subba first wobbled Khan with an elbow during an exchange in the middle of the cage. Later backed up against the cage, a left hand from Subba dropped Khan, causing the fight to end.
Subba has now picked up a pair of wins in 2022. His previous fight came against James Yang, who he beat via unanimous decision in April.
Khan was coming off a win over Ryogo Takahashi from earlier this year.
Batur Wins ONE Debut Against Elliott
Martin Batur scored his first ONE victory on Friday night, stopping heavyweight Paul Elliott in the opening round.
Batur finished the fight with elbows and hammerfist punches from a full mount position on Elliott. He earned this position in the second minute of the fight, scoring a clean takedown.
A steady pace of strikes from Batur eventually caused the referee to end the fight.
Batur overcame adversity for the win. He suffered a hard knockdown in the opening minute of the fight, getting floored by a right hook from Elliott. Batur was able to return to his feet shortly after, and recovered while dodging shots from an aggressive Elliott.
Batur was making his ONE debut in the fight. He is now on a four-fight winning streak, with all victories coming via finish.
Elliott has now suffered two finish losses in ONE. His promotional debut was in March, when Kang Ji Won stopped him in 58 seconds.
Langaker Takes Decision Nod In Grappling Bout
In a rare ONE grappling bout, Tommy Langaker picked up a decision victory over Renato Canuto.
The victory was given to Langaker after 10 minutes of action on the feet. Langaker was on the attack for nearly half of the fight, heating up late against Canuto.
Langaker most notably took the back of Canuto at one point, locking in a body triangle and attempting a rear naked choke.
Canuto was originally scheduled to face Valdir Rodrigues on this card.
Agasa Stops Returning Nakassu
Kantharaj Agasa spoiled the return of Thales Nakassu in the opening bout of the card, putting him away in the opening round with strikes.
Agasa dropped Nakassu in the third minute of their bout, landing a clean counter right hook. Nakassu fell hard due to the strikes, causing the bout to end almost immediately.
Prior to the finish, Agasa succeeded on the feet against Nakassu. He would charge into clinch positions, where combinations of punches would land. In a few instances, he entered into an exchange after catching a leg kick from Nakassu.
Agasa earned his first ONE victory in the appearance. He lost his debut last year, suffering a doctor stoppage against Xie Wei.
Nakassu, a grappling specialist, was returning to MMA for the first time since 2014. He boasted a record of five wins and one loss prior to this appearance.
Quick Results
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 7: Christian Lee def. Ok Rae Yoon via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:00) (ONE MMA Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Bout 6: Tang Kai def. Thanh Le via Decision, Unanimous (ONE MMA Welterweight Championship) (155 lbs)
Bout 5: Saemapetch Fairtex def. Rittewada Petchyindee Academy via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:35) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 4: Keanu Subba def. Amir Khan via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:29) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Martin Batur def. Paul Elliott via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:38) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Tommy Langaker def. Renato Canuto via Decision, Unanimous (Grappling Bout)
Bout 1: Kantharaj Agasa def. Thales Nakassu via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:55) (MMA Bout)
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