Christian Lee is in a unique position. He's one of the youngest fighters on ONE Championship's roster, only two fights into a burgeoning professional career and yet, he's shown maturity and technique well beyond his years, establishing himself as a key player in a stacked featherweight division.
Lee (2-0) is scheduled to face fellow featherweight prospect, Malaysia's Keanu Subba (3-1) in a three-round bout set for ONE: UNION OF WARRIORS which takes place 18 March at the Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
Like Lee, Subba is a young up-and-coming fighter with tremendous potential. Subba is the former Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) featherweight champion and has had an extensive amateur career.
On paper, Lee's bout against Subba promises an even volley of high-charged striking and very technical grappling. Both fighters are evenly matched in terms of skill level, with Lee exhibiting more potential while Subba seemingly has more experience.
The importance of this matchup is something Lee is well aware of.
"This fight is very exciting for me, because I know Keanu [Subba] is a fellow young and hungry prospect," said Lee. "I think this will be a crucial fight in establishing my ranking in the featherweight division."
If the former Pankration world champion's first two victories as a professional mixed martial artist are anything to go by, Lee is in for what should be an amazing career. Lee has one submission and one technical knockout victory so far on his fight resume.
Yet in both wins, Lee made it look easy. He barely broke a sweat against Australia's David Meak in his ONE Championship debut, needing just under half a minute to score a highlight-reel TKO. Just a month later, Lee put his jiu-jitsu on display with a few crafty maneuvers before ultimately executing a reverse Kimura to perfection.
What makes the Subba bout so compelling is that Subba is talented enough to be aware of Lee's various gifts and should be able to defend well against his attacks.
But Lee is aware of Subba's strengths too, so he is going into the fight looking to finish early.
"Many people will see this fight as an even matchup, but my game plan is to get in there and put Keanu Subba away as quickly and as technically as possible," said Lee.
Lee is currently home in Hawaii where he trains at United MMA until such time that he makes the near 7,000-mile journey halfway across the world to Singapore to put the finishing touches at Evolve-MMA. Subba on the other hand is camped at Bali Muay Thai & MMA in Indonesia.
With less than a month separating the two from staring each other down at the center of the ONE Cage, both fighters are deep in training, getting ready for what should be an awesome matchup of two young stars.
Despite the fact that Subba represents Lee's first real test, the part Singapore-Korean fighter says it's the dedication he puts into the sport that is what sets him apart.
"My training camp for this fight will be the same as all of my other fights," said Lee. "I simply trust in my coach and train my butt off. The key to my success is the countless hours of hard work I put into my preparation."
Both Lee and Subba are set on a collision course that will undoubtedly produce two winners. The experience they will gain from fighting each other is more important than the tallies in their win-loss records. But for a fighter to advance, one has to beat the other.
"I know that Keanu is a fellow up and coming prospect in ONE Championship," said Lee. "I wish him all the best in his future fights, but for now, he's just another opponent standing in my way."