It’s been over two years since Christian Lee final fought however there have been loads of questions on whether or not or not he would ever compete once more following the tragic dying of his sister Victoria Lee.
The now 26-year-old two division ONE Championship champion was rocked alongside all people else in his household after Victoria took her personal life in December 2022. The tragedy despatched shockwaves by means of your complete struggle world however the Lee household was understandably altered eternally.
Within the wake of Victoria’s dying, former ONE strawweight champion Angela Lee in the end determined to retire from competitors to place her concentrate on a non-profit group she launched centered on psychological well being. The Lee’s household martial arts health club shut down completely and Christian took an extended hiatus from the game.
“Initially, in fact I didn’t need to do something,” Lee advised MMA Preventing. “I closed my health club down. I wasn’t interested by preventing. However there got here a time limit the place I used to be able to re-open the health club once more and I used to be additionally able to get again to work.
“For me, the road of labor I selected is preventing. I skilled my entire life, dedicated my entire up till now into being an expert fighter. So for me, it was simply time to get again to work, time to feed my household once more. I by no means deliberate on retiring from this sport.”
Whereas the Lee household health club stays closed, Christian opened up his personal facility in Hawaii however even that was a labor of affection for the primary few months as a result of he was primarily working alongside his youthful brother Adrian Lee as he ready to make his transfer into MMA.
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong admits he had reservations about bringing Adrian into the fold after Victoria’s tragic dying however he in the end relented and signed the teenage prospect. Christian then took it upon himself to be sure that Adrian had each useful resource obtainable — maybe most significantly an older brother that took time away from his personal struggle profession to concentrate on him.
“I used to be comfortable to shift the main target over to my brother,” Lee mentioned. “He was in a position to get his first two wins in that point. For me, I’m not simply centered on my profession anymore. I’m additionally centered on constructing his as effectively.”
“Getting again into the health club, for an extended time frame it was simply me and my brother, one on one, the 2 of us. I used to be centered on coaching him and constructing him up. In that brief period of time, we had like six months of simply coaching one on one with one another. He improved so rapidly. He actually went from a younger highschool child to a real skilled fighter.”
Now as he prepares to renew his personal profession on Friday with a welterweight title protection booked towards Alibeg Rasulov in Thailand, Lee is able to get again to work.
Lee admits the break day was clearly vital but it surely was additionally useful as a result of he had mainly been preventing continuous since he first signed with ONE when he was solely 16 years previous.
A decade later, Lee is a two-division champion and arguably the highest pound-for-pound fighter in your complete group however these accomplishments got here largely attributable to a relentless schedule that he saved over time.
“The break day was good mentally and bodily,” Lee mentioned. “If you put a lot time in, 10 years on this sport, positively it takes a toll on you. At 26, in some methods I really feel like an previous man, as a result of I began off my profession so younger.
“Now we now have our health club Prodigy Coaching Middle up and operating and we’ve obtained our struggle staff constructed up. A number of proficient fighters at Prodigy that can be up on the massive stage as effectively and now within the room, I’m the previous man. It’s humorous as a result of I used to be at all times the youngest man within the room however now with my health club open and my struggle staff constructed, I’m the previous man within the room.”
It’s robust to think about anybody feeling previous at 26 however Lee has truly realized to embrace being the elder statesman in his health club. He already embraced his position as coach and mentor to his youthful brother however now he’s handing out that very same data to the subsequent technology of martial artists following in his footsteps.
“It’s positively numerous work,” Lee mentioned. “However I really feel like I’m at a time in my life, that is the time to work the toughest that I’ve ever labored and I’m ready to place in all the hours. I used to coach at 9 a.m. within the morning. I shifted it over to start out at 5:30 a.m. So I get up on a regular basis at 4:30 a.m., I get morning coaching from like 5:30 to 9. Then from there, I simply have that point to return house and spend with my spouse and my children, nonetheless have that household time after which I’m again within the health club working with the children and my grownup lessons after which working with all my fighters and college students that I’m coaching.
“It’s a busy day. It begins very early within the morning, typically my household we’re consuming dinner at 9 p.m. at evening but it surely feels good to work onerous and to have the ability to give again on the identical time.”