Former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Ok Rae Yoon is eager to settle an important score, and he’s practically one fight away from his chance at doing it.

In the main event of ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video on Friday, July 5, the South Korean slugger will face undefeated newcomer Alibeg Rasulov for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Championship inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ok Rae Yoon targets Christian Lee for a decisive trilogy fight

The winner of the match will set up a date with two-division king Christian “The Warrior” Lee, which is the target Ok has his eyes on beyond claiming interim gold.

“I really, really want to fight Christian Lee for a third time before I retire. I believe I must fight him before I call it a day. Although our last fight ended in a complete defeat for me, we’re still 1-1,” he told ONE in an interview.

The Team Mad athlete pulled off a stunning upset when he faced Lee for the first time at ONE: REVOLUTION in September 2021. He took a unanimous decision win to take the divisional crown for the longtime titleholder. 

Almost a year later, at ONE 160, he would fail to defend the belt in his rematch with a vengeful Lee, who destroyed him in just two rounds.

With the decisive win, the Evolve MMA representative has expressed his desire to move on to other challengers in the stacked division. But Ok has been determined to prove that he still has what it takes to rule over the division for some time.

Former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion talks about his fight with Lowen Tynanes

The Busan man returned to action in his latest promotional outing at ONE Fight Night 10 in May last year, and he emerged victorious over American veteran Lowen Tynanes, with the win charged up by clear intent and motivation.

“The fight against Tynanes was after my defeat when I lost my World Title. I thought to myself that if I lost, I would no longer be considered a top contender,” he said. 

“So I knew the fight was very important, and I trained very hard. I stopped every other thing I was doing and focused on my preparation. I saw it as my stepping stone back to the title.” 

Ok has shown himself worthy of a shot at the lightweight MMA crown, and he’ll get that and his coveted trilogy with Lee if he can spoil Rasulov’s welcome to ONE Championship next weekend.