It has been announced that Christian Lee will defend his lightweight title against Alibeg Rasoulov at ONE 169, confirming his long-awaited return to ONE Championship.
Lee, who is also the welterweight champion, didn't fight at all in 2023, having taken some time off following the death of his sister, Victoria.
Lee has a 17-4 record and will be defending the belt he has won twice. He lost the lightweight title to South Korean fighter Ok Rae-Yoon in 2021 but quickly regained it in a rematch.
A third bout had been floated as a possibility, but Oku lost to Rasoulov last weekend, leaving the Turkish-born Russian boxer as the number one contender in the lightweight division.
Having failed weight and moisture tests, Rasoulof would not have received the interim belt even with a win, raising concerns about his eligibility to fight Lee for the title.
However, ONE Championship matchmakers decided this had to happen, and the bout is now set to take place in Atlanta on November 8th.
Rasoulov comes into the bout with a 14-0 professional record, and the bout will take place at the 16,000-seat State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. It will mark ONE Championship's first visit to Atlanta and its third event held in the United States.
In the main event, Anatoly Markikin will defend his heavyweight title against Umar “Reug Reug” Cain, while Prajanchai PKSaenchaigym will defend his featherweight Muay Thai title in a rematch against Joe Nattawut.
Meanwhile, Christian Lee's teenage brother Adrian has been added to the ONE 168 card, where he will face local favorite Nicholas Cornejo in Denver.
That means he will become the first member of the famous fighting family to fight in the United States, just two months before his bout with his brother Rasoulof.
Like Christian and Adrian, their sister Angela was the current atomweight champion at the time of her retirement last year, and Victoria was an undefeated atomweight title contender before her death.
