ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov Preview and Predictions

On Dec. 6, ONE Championship will return to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium for a multi-sport event, including two world title fights. Friday’s ONE Fight Night 26 features MMA (4), Muay Thai (3), kickboxing (2), and submission grappling (3).

In the main event, two-division MMA world champion Christian Lee returns after a two-year layoff. Lee took time to recover from the unfortunate passing of his younger sister, Victoria Lee. He now returns to defend his lightweight strap against the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov.

The co-main event showcases a bantamweight kickboxing bout between Petchtanong Petchfergus and Nabil Anane. Petchtanong is knocking on the doorsteps of a title shot, while Anane looks to display his versatility after a phenomenal run in Muay Thai.

Friday’s event also presents a women’s atomweight submission grappling world title rematch between Mayssa Bastos and Danielle Kelly, the promotional debuts of submission grappling phenoms Cole Abate and Dante Leon, Reece McLaren vs. Jarred Brooks, and more.

The event airs live on Amazon Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for the event.

Two division champion Christian Lee puts his lightweight title on the line against Alibeg Rasulov; can the champion make a successful return to his natural division?

Christian Lee is one of the few MMA fighters in ONE Championship that could succeed in any promotion. The 26-year-old is a two-division world champion (lightweight and welterweight), with the latter strap being earned in his last fight against Kiamrian Abbasov in Nov. 2022.

Following an extended layoff, Lee makes his highly-anticipated return against Alibeg Rasulov. The Turkish lightweight holds an undefeated professional MMA record of 14-0, including a unanimous decision win against Ok Rae Yoon in his promotional debut earlier this year.

Rasulov maintains a grappling-heavy fighting style, with his striking mostly finding success when his opponents are worried about getting taken down. Meanwhile, Lee is a well-rounded fighter whose combination of heart and fundamentals makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone.

Rasulov’s primary path to victory is to smother Lee with pressure and avoid extended exchanges in the striking department. Lee should be able to overcome Rasulov’s grappling attack and execute his versatile striking to secure a third- or fourth-round knockout.

Petchtanong Petchfergus has won three fights in a row; can the Thai kickboxer make it four straight and upend Nabil Anane?

Nabil Anane made his ONE Championship debut against now-two-sport world champion Superlek, losing by first-round knockout. Since then, the 6’3” striker has bounced back with five consecutive wins, moving up to bantamweight along the way.

At ONE Fight Night 26, Anane looks to make a splash in the bantamweight kickboxing division against former world champion Petchtanong. The 39-year-old Thai fighter has rattled off three consecutive wins against Zhang Chenglong, Hiroki Akimoto, and Alaverdi Ramazanov.

Petchtanong will have to overcome the same problem as Anane’s past opponents – a massive height and reach disadvantage. Petchtanong has the experience and aggressive fighting style needed to pull off the win, but Anane has been unbeatable since moving to bantamweight.

Anane’s seven-inch height advantage should be too much for Petchtanong, leading to a close unanimous decision win.

Mayssa Bastos and Danielle Kelly will rematch after Bastos won their first contest via decision; how does the second time around play out?

Mayssa Bastos and Danielle Kelly first faced each other on Aug. 2. Kelly came in as a slight betting favorite, but educated fans knew Bastos had a legitimate chance to become the new women’s atomweight submission grappling world champion.

Kelly never truly got going at ONE Fight Night 24 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat. She now looks to avenge her lone promotional loss against Bastos.

The first meeting between Kelly and Bastos was decided by a slim margin. This time around, Kelly will likely be more aware of her need to be active and throw out more submission attempts, even if they don’t have a chance of finishing the match.

Look for Kelly to come out firing and regain her world title with a unanimous decision win.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

The sleeper matchup at ONE Fight Night 26 is a flyweight Muay Thai matchup between Nakrob Fairtex and Kongthoranee.

Earlier this year, Rodtang missed weight for his rematch against Jacob Smith and vacated the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title. ‘The Iron Man’ will potentially turn his attention to a kickboxing super-fight against Takeru Segawa, giving other challengers an opportunity.

Nakrob and Konthoranee have a chance to prove that they deserve a spot in the vacant title fight. Both fighters have looked phenomenal since signing with ONE, as Nakrob holds a promotional record of 9-1, only loss to Nabil Anane, while Kongthoranee stands at 9-2.

This matchup features knockout power, potentially high stakes, and two fighters riding momentum. Don’t miss this action-packed fight.