Even though MMA’s top promotion, the UFC, is dark this last weekend of August, it doesn’t mean that the sport will be dark as a whole, not by a long shot, as ONE Championship sets up shop on Friday for three title fights across two shows, continuing with the ONE 160 main event.
All told, Friday’s card will feature eight bouts across MMA, Muay Thai and submission grappling.
Live coverage of ONE 160 begins Friday morning at 7:30 am ET/ 4:30 am PT inside the United States and Canada with the undercard on the ONE Championship Facebook page and YouTube channel, continuing at 8:30 am ET/ 5:30 am PT on YouTube with the main card action
Lightweight Rematch Between Ok and Lee in ONE 160 Main Event
Highlighting the activities in Singapore will be a rematch for the ONE Lightweight Championship in the ONE 160 main event.
Incumbent champion Ok Rae Yoon (16-3 MMA, 3-0 ONE Championship) faces off for the second time against No. 1 contender Christian Lee (15-4 MMA, 15-4 ONE Championship) in Friday’s headlining bout.
As with all championship fights in MMA, this will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
Note: ONE Championship’s weight classes are based on a fighter’s normal weight and dehydration-based weight cuts are illegal.
The Last Meeting
Back on Sept. 24, 2021, Ok and Lee faced one another for the first time during ONE Championship: Revolution. That night, Ok became the new champion, scoring a unanimous decision against Lee after five rounds. This time around, Christian Lee has arrived in Singapore and will be out for revenge.
ONE 160 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into Friday’s headlining bout, champion Ok Rae Yoon stands as the taller man at six feet even, compared to the 5-foot-10 frame of challenger Christian Lee. Atypical of other fight breakdowns seen on Overtime Heroics, there is no reach advantage information available for this championship bout.
Ok Rae Yoon With Bulletin Board Material for Christian Lee
Ok Rae Yoon has posted a record of 5-0 in his last five MMA fights, including a unanimous decision victory against Eddie Alvarez in April of 2021 during ONE on TNT IV’s co-main event. After his most recent championship triumph last fall, Ok called himself the true victor of the fight against Lee.
“I believe I won the fight, and you know, it is what it is,” Ok said. “I don’t know what to say. At the end of the day, if you talk about damages and clear shots, clear shots landed. I believe I landed more and I gave more damage and I believe that’s why my hand was raised.”
At the time of the fight’s aftermath, controversy was the order of the day, with the judges ruling in favor of Ok Rae Yoon after 25 minutes, despite Christian Lee landing a right-handed punch to knock his opponent down in the third round.
Despite the drama surrounding the championship fight that evening, Ok Rae Yoon downplayed it.
“I really don’t get why there’s controversy regarding the decision because I think I clearly won the fight,” he said, “and if Christian Lee wants to have a rematch, sure, we can do the rematch right away.”
The bad blood for Friday’s ONE 160 main event has been stewing for around 11 months and it’s now reached the boiling point, but will this fight live up to the boiling point?
Christian Lee’s Side of the Story Ahead of ONE 160 Main Event
In the other corner, Christian Lee has gone 4-1 in his last five appearances and hasn’t fought outside of ONE Championship in his MMA career. His most recent win occurred in April of last year during ONE on TNT II’s main event (first-round knockout: counter hook followed by ground and pound shots) versus Timofey Nastyukhin.
Every great story has two sides, and in Tuesday’s media availability, the challenger gave his.
“I still feel like I won the fight,” Lee began, “even looking back, after everything is said and done, emotions aside, I feel like I won the fight.”
Lee is eager to put the controversy of the first fight in the rear-view mirror.
“I’m looking forward to the rematch and I’m looking forward to putting a stamp on this one,” he said, “making sure that I finish him so that nothing else needs to be said about it.”
There’s no denying that Christian Lee will be out for blood in Friday’s ONE 160 main event, but will he get the revenge that he wants? Tune in and find out.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the ONE 160 main event on Friday seems to favor challenger Christian Lee, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, compared to Ok Rae Yoon’s defensive approach.
Look For Ok Rae Yoon To Land Punches in Bunches in ONE 160 Main Event
A key aspect of Ok Rae Yoon’s fight game is his ability to land copious amounts of punches, as he did last year versus Eddie Alvarez. During the first round of a scheduled three, Ok absorbed a few leg kicks from Alvarez before he responded with a leg kick of his own.
Upon taking the bout to the clinch, Ok ate some knee strikes, with Alvarez asserting himself as the aggressor of the fight to that stage. From there, Ok Rae Yoon was able to get himself out of an Alvarez clinch attempt and the men traded shots.
Ok became the aggressor himself when he landed a lead leg kick on Alvarez before knocking him down with a nasty punch and scoring with a flurry of hammerfists from ground and pound, nearly ending the fight in the process– but Eddie Alvarez somehow got back up to see out the rest of the first round. If Ok Rae Yoon is able to land heavy punches in Friday’s ONE 160 main event, this fight will be his.
Christian Lee Can End ONE 160 Main Event Quickly
In the other corner, Christian Lee has been known to end the fight in a hurry, as was the case against Nastyukhin in April of 2021. Although the fight was scheduled for five rounds that night, Christian Lee only needed less than a minute and a half to close the show. Lee attempted to take Nastyukhin to the ground right away, but his opponent stuffed the attempt, something that would prove inconsequential in the long run.
Although Nastyukhin landed two leg kicks, it was Lee who would prove to be the stronger fighter for as long as the fight lasted, scoring with a high kick of his own before sending him down with a two-punch combination and repeatedly teeing off with right-handed punches.
Despite an attempt by Timofey Nastyukhin to get back to his feet, it would be to no avail due to Lee’s relentless punches, and the referee finally ended the fight in a minute and 13 seconds. If Christian Lee is able to knock Ok Rae Yoon down, he’ll reclaim the championship after the ONE 160 main event.
Final Thoughts
There’s not really much left to say about this contest except that anybody who misses the ONE 160 main event on Friday is going to be sorry that they did. Let the cage door close.
Prediction: Christian Lee by First-Round Knockout.
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