Christian Lee vs Timofey Nastyukhin Betting Preview and Prediction

On Wednesday, April 14^th, ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee will defend his title against the #3 ranked lightweight Timofey Nastyukhin in a highly anticipated main event fight.

The 22 year old Lee is one of the promotion’s top homegrown stars and all eyes will be on him this Wednesday. Nastyukhin is a legitimate threat to the champ and has some pundits thinking there could be an upset. Will Lee continue his skyrocket towards superstardom or will Nastyukhin take the spotlight and the title?

The Lee vs Nastyukhin lightweight title fight is the featured bout for ONE on TNT 2 live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The main card will begin at 10pm ET on TNT.

Christian Lee (14-3) vs Timofey Nastyukhin (14-4)

• Christian Lee (-225)
• Timofey Nastyukhin (+175)

Nastyukhin enters this contest as the sizable underdog. The 31 year old Russian has won two straight fights and four of his last five. His most notable victory over that span was a 1^st round TKO against Eddie Alvarez in March 2019.

He has a similar gameplan for the upcoming fight against Lee that he used against Alvarez and many other opponents. Nastyukhin is looking to finish the fight with a brutal knockout:

“Of course I want to end it Round 1. Finish him in a nice way, a spectacular knockout. That’s my style. He’ still very young, Christian Lee. His time will come, but right now, it’s my time.”

11 of his 14 pro wins have come via stoppage with seven by way of TKO/KO. He’s 3-0 when going the distance.

Christian Lee is on a five fight win streak which includes winning a grand prix and the lightweight title. He’s beat some high caliber fighters over that stretch including Shinya Aoki, Saygrid Guseyn Arslanaliev, and Iuri Lapicus.

Lee last fought in October 2020 when he defeated Lapicus via 1^st round TKO. Four of his last five wins have come via TKO.

13 of his 14 pro wins have come via stoppage with nine by way of TKO/KO. He’s 1-1 when going the distance.

Who Wins This ONE Lightweight Title Fight?

This is going to be an exciting and highly competitive fight. In Nastyukhin you have a fighter that’s tough, strong, durable, can defend takedowns and has the power to finish a fight in the 1^st round just like he did to Alvarez.

In the 22 year old Lee, you have a superstar in the making who has quick hands, explosive athleticism, and elite wrestling skills.

The question is whether or not Lee will be able to get Nastyukhin down to the mat and keep him there. With his strength and solid grappling skills, Timofey is going to be a challenge to keep down on the mat.

Another aspect that will play a huge factor in this fight is Nastyukhin’s conditioning. Lee is going to push the pace, be aggressive, and try to wear down his opponent with a smothering grapple heavy approach.

Lee also has the hands to strike from a distance, which is going to play in his favor as he will have the height and reach advantages. This will force Nastyukhin to try and close the distance to a more manageable close quarter, phonebooth battle.

Take Lee to Win this Bout

Ultimately, I believe Lee’s wrestling skills will be the difference in this contest. He will control the bout from the mat and keep Nastyukhin from getting too comfortable on his feet.

I expect Lee to finish off his opponent inside the distance. All four of Nastyukhin’s losses have come via stoppage with two apiece for submission and TKO/KO. I see Lee picking up a TKO win and putting his stamp on the ONE promotion as the company’s brightest young star.

As of this writing, there is no Over/Under or prop bets for this fight. Keep an eye out for any last minute listings of these wagers at the best MMA betting sites. In particular, look for Lee to win inside the distance.