UFC's Max Holloway Hails Young ONE Championship Star As MMA's Next Big Thing

Christian Lee is now a two-division world champion after beating Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE on Prime Video 4. ONE Championship

KEY POINTS

Christian Lee is ranked sixth out of 25 on a list of the fighters under 25 years old
Max Holloway disagrees mightily with Lee's placement due to his double champion status
Lee's star is only expected to grow in the coming years

ONE Championship star Christian Lee ended 2022 on a high note, and former UFC featherweight king Max Holloway believes he has the highest potential among all young stars in mixed martial arts (MMA).

ESPN MMA recently released a list of 25 fighters under 25 years old, and Lee was ranked No. 6.

Holloway feels that Lee should have the top spot over names like Usman Nurmagomedov of Bellator and the UFC's Muhammad Mokaev.

MMA's new talent class is on the rise, including Raul Rosas Jr., who competes Saturday at #UFC282 📈

For more on our top 25 under 25: https://t.co/wZE9TzQf5m pic.twitter.com/azGOQPcRPS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2022

"How is [Christian] Lee not [number] 1? Dude is a double champ right now," Holloway wrote in the comments section of the Facebook graphic and many appear to agree with him for the same reasons.

Lee was out for blood when he rematched South Korea's Ok Rae Yoon at ONE 160 this past August.

"The Warrior" wholeheartedly believed that the judges in their first encounter last year unjustly awarded the win and the lightweight title to Ok.

Still seemingly bothered and incensed by the comments levied against him for being a sore loser, Lee decided to take matters into his own hands and battered Ok with a refined striking game before dropping him to the mat and finishing him with ease.

It was a version of Lee that fans had never seen before and the performance had fans wondering who was next for him.

The Singaporean-American would take his talents a weight class above him and challenge Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE welterweight title to gain double champ status.

Abbasov gave Lee all that he could handle in the opening frame of the fight, but Lee dug deep to rally in the fourth round to score a rousing technical knockout.

His body of work since his December 2015 debut for ONE Championship gives him a strong case as one of the best competitors in the sport today under age 25.

Regardless of his placement, Lee has gained a massive supporter in the ex-UFC featherweight champion and he is likely to get even better as he gets more fights under his belt.