Two-weight ONE MMA world champion Christian Lee will make his long-awaited re-entrance into the ONE Championship Circle at ONE 169: Atlanta.
"The Warrior" defends his ONE lightweight MMA world title against surging contender Alibeg Rasulov as part of the stacked Nov 9 card at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Lee hasn't been seen in action since he seized the ONE welterweight MMA world title from Kiamrian Abbasov with a stunning fourth-round knockout in November 2022.
The 26-year-old has since taken time away from the sport in the wake of the tragic passing of his younger sister, Victoria Lee, in December 2022.
His older sister, former long-time ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion Angela Lee, announced her retirement from the sport following the Lee family's devastating loss. But Christian remained committed to resuming his career in his late sibling's honour.
The date has been set, but Rasulov will be no tune-up fight for Lee's return.
The Dagestan-born Turkish wrestling standout is undefeated as a professional, with a 14-0 slate to his credit.
The 31-year-old shook up the lightweight MMA division on debut earlier this month, taking out former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon in a five-round unanimous decision win in the ONE Fight Night 23 main event.
His victory over the Lee's former conqueror thrust him to the front of the queue of fighters waiting to welcome the Singaporean-American star back to ONE.
Despite his time on the sidelines, Lee deservedly remains one of the biggest stars on the promotion's roster after racking up 21-fights in ONE since 2015.
Of those fights, 17 have been victories with 16 coming inside the distance, making Lee one of the most exciting fighters in ONE's history.
