By:  | April 16, 2023 10:16 am

Ok Rae Yoon is looking to launch his comeback at ONE Fight Night 10. The Korean was stopped by Christian Lee last time out, a defeat which snapped his five fight winning streak and cost him his lightweight title.

In his first three fights for the promotion Yoon beat Marat Gafurov, Eddie Alvarez and Christian Lee. It is difficult to imagine a tougher start and the Korean established himself as the lightweight king in the space of just a few months.

But Lee beat him convincingly in the rematch. He remains the #1 ranked contender at lightweight but, compared to his previous opponents, Tynanes is not a big name.

Impressive record

The Hawaiian does have an impressive record but having beaten some of the best fighters in the division Yoon is extremely confident,

“Ever since I’ve started fighting in ONE Championship, I have fought against fighters with a style similar to Lowen Tynanes. Marat Gafurov, Eddie Alvarez, and Christian Lee all feel like they have better grappling compared to Lowen Tynanes’ grappling. So, I think there will be no problem as long as the performances in the previous matches can come out.”

Tynanes made his ONE Championship debut in 2013 but his career has been badly interrupted by illness and injury. He is coming off a win over another Korean, Dae Sung Park, and Yoon knows exactly what to expect on May 5th,

“His ability to control grappling is excellent and he has great strength. He is a fighter who weaponizes this to force pressure. Then, he creates opportunities and fights his own style. However, I’ve been dealing with very strong grapplers, so I respect Lowen’s grappling, but I think I can handle him.”

Tiny detail

He hints that something went wrong in the buildup to his rematch with Lee. Yoon doesn’t specify what that was but says he learned a lot from the experience,

“The higher the level, the more I need to take care of my body. Before that, I competed at a level where even if you were in poor physical condition, you could cover it with your skills. But that night, I felt that even a tiny detail was crucial when competing with the best in the world.”

Yoon is well aware that his name sits at the top of the lightweight rankings. Only the champion is ahead of him and the Korean believes a win over Tynanes next month would be enough to earn him a title shot,

“First of all, since I lost the last match, I have to prove myself in the next match. I have to justify the next fight or two, and if I do that, I think I’m qualified, as Christian Lee did the rematch right away.”