Everyone saw what Timofey Nastyukhin did to Eddie Alvarez, including Christian Lee. He faces the Russian at ONE on TNT Part II and is not going to fall into the same trap as the former UFC lightweight champion.
Lee plans to take a more tactical approach to the lightweight title fight which is being broadcast on TNT this Wednesday (US time),
“I did watch his fight with Eddie Alvarez and the thing about that matchup is they both came in with the same game plan, to stand and trade, and it was Timofey’s night. If you stand there and trade blows it could be anyone’s night so we are going to be looking at playing it a little differently,” he said.
Dangerous fighter
Lee is the lightweight champion and the majority of his wins have come inside a round. But he still sounds impressed by his opponent’s punching prowess,
“Timofey is a dangerous fighter because he’s always looking to finish. He’s got many knockout and submission wins in his career also I know he’s not going to be coming in to win a safe fight or win by decision, he’s looking to take my head off so that makes him very dangerous.”
Lee’s record is testament to the fact that he is one of the most aggressive fighters on the ONE Championship roster. He sees similar characteristics in Nastyukhin and will be looking to nullify the threat of the Russian,
“There’s no pressure on me to won this fight (as) I’m the champion and I feel like I’m the best fighter in the division however Timofey is a serious threat, he’s absolutely one of the most dangerous fighters in my division and I will not be taking him lightly.”
Different approach
It sounds like that will necessitate a slightly different approach from the champion,
“I’m coming in with a specific game plan And I believe in myself and I believe in my training,” Lee said.
However while Lee is impressed by Nastyukhin he certainly isn’t suffering from an inferiority complex,
“He’s a very well rounded fighter he doesn’t have many weaknesses so my game plan is for my strengths to be stronger than his strengths. I just feel that I’m better everywhere.”
Lee campaigned extensively at featherweight before moving up to lightweight. It sounds like he might be looking to move up another division in the near future but for now his focus is firmly on Nastyukhin,
“I definitely have plans to move up to welterweight in the near future but right now I’m only focused on defending my belt against Timofey. This will be the biggest fight of my career (but) after this match we can talk.”
