ONE double champion who said he’d ‘dominate’ Islam Makhachev loses title after tapping out in 1 round

One of Christian Lee’s title reigns is over, just days after he expressed confidence about a fantasy fight against Islam Makhachev.

The 28-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best MMA fighters competing outside of the UFC, having won both the welterweight (185 pounds) and lightweight (170 pounds) titles in ONE Championship.

Lee entered Friday’s event, The Inner Circle 37, in the midst of his second rule over the lightweight division in the Asian organization.

But five years after a shock loss to Ok Rae Yoon removed him from the throne, ‘The Warrior’ was unseated again, this time by jiu-jitsu prodigy Tye Ruotolo in just over two minutes.

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Christian Lee gets submitted by Tye Ruotolo in ONE title fight days after predicting he’d beat Islam Makhachev

The Ruotolo brothers have crossed over to MMA in recent times after making their names in the grappling scene.

After choking out the champ’s brother, Adrian Lee, Tye received an opportunity to replicate that against Christian on November 6 in Bangkok, Thailand.

‘The Warrior’ was confident of withstanding his challenger’s threat on the ground. More than just getting the better of Ruotolo, Lee claimed in the lead-up to his first outing in almost a year that he could “dominate” UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.

“I feel very confident that I’m the best fighter in the world across any organization,” Lee told MMA Fighting ahead of Friday’s fight.

“My goal, if I could choose one fight, will be to fight Islam right now. I’ll go for the welterweight belt.

“I feel like I can catch him on the feet. I feel like I can take him down, dominate him, do everything he does to other people,” he added.

Makhachev may have something to say about that after what transpired on Friday, as Ruotolo knocked Lee down with a crisp combination before submitting him with a rear-naked choke.

The finish came 128 seconds into the title fight, leaving Lee with just the 185-pound championship in his possession.

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In his previous fight, Lee had knocked out Alibeg Rasulov to successfully defend the lightweight crown.

November 2022 saw ‘The Warrior’ crowned a double champion after he stopped Kiamrian Abbasov in round four at ONE on Prime Video 4 to capture the welterweight belt.

It remains to be seen what lies ahead for Lee, who has not fought more than once in a calendar year since his two-division crowning four years ago.

Tye Ruotolo, meanwhile, now holds MMA gold in Asia’s biggest organization just three fights into his career. His brother, Kade, is 4-0 so far and has collected bonuses in three of his wins.