‘Stay In Your Lightweight Division’ – Kiamrian Abbasov Says Christian Lee Will Regret Welterweight Challenge
Kiamrian Abbasov plans to give ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee a violently impolite welcome to the welterweight MMA division.
On November 18, “Brazen” will defend his ONE Welterweight World Title against the Singaporean-American superstar in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4.
Despite facing one of the biggest names in ONE Championship, the Kyrgyz titleholder is brimming with bravado and can’t wait to teach his challenger a lesson for daring to move up in weight.
He believes the 24-year-old made a mistake in taking this shot at the welterweight throne, and he thinks the smaller man will realize his error as soon as the action begins.
Abbasov told ONEFC.com:
“A lot of things will go off plan for him. Naturally, he will complain to his dad or coach: ‘Coach, big problem. Kiamrian Abbasov is a big problem. Please, stop the fight. Stop the fight.’
“When the cage is closed, neither media nor his family will help him. It will be only I and he with all his big problems because of his desire to move up to my division.”
“Brazen” is offering this warning to his opponent now, but he also envisions himself giving Lee a message in the midst of battle.
A man of relatively few words, Abbasov plans to be simple, direct, and bone-chilling:
“I will whisper to his ear during the fight: ‘Stay in your lightweight division.’”
Kiamrian Abbasov Says Christian Lee Isn’t Ready For Welterweight
While Kiamrian Abbasov is confident that he’ll have his way with Christian Lee, he is still preparing for a tough fight.
Instead of assuming he’ll be the stronger man simply because he’s heavier, the 29-year-old welterweight king says looks can be deceiving.
With that in mind, he’s readying himself for the possibility that the challenger will be plenty strong as well.
“Brazen” explained:
“It doesn’t matter whether [Lee is] smaller or bigger. I always try to train with strong opponents in the gym to be ready for any outcome in the fight. Because he may be smaller in weight but physically stronger.
Sometimes there’s a solid guy, you look at him, and he is so heavy, heavyweight, but he is physically weak, so I work with physically strong opponents in the gym to be ready for anything.”
But as Lee moves up in weight, it’s not his muscle but his speed that’s likely to give Abbasov problems.
However, the Kyrgyz star isn’t particularly worried about his opponent’s perceived speed advantage, if one even exists.
After all, “Brazen” has showcased blazing-fast yet brutally powerful hands throughout his ONE Championship career, collecting a pair of sensational knockouts from his four promotional victories.
He said:
“How will I deal with his speed and explosive technique? Well, I’ll tell him I’m not a slow guy, either. He will have to reach me first. So I work at all aspects, whether it’s speed, power, or quickness. So I don’t consider it an issue that he’s fast or something.
“If he moved up two divisions, then we could talk about his speed, but our weight difference is not that big, so I don’t think it will pose a problem.”
Ultimately, Abbasov is sure that Lee simply lacks the physicality to compete with him.
By putting on pounds for this matchup, he believes “The Warrior” will lose both speed and power, resulting in a rude awakening on November 18.
“Brazen” added:
“He might face issues after he gains weight and will no longer be an explosive fighter. I think he has a lot of work to do in terms of physique and to try and overcome me physically. This is a different weight category with very different rules.”
