By Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez
[email protected]
An athlete of many talents, Freshman Christian Lee is on his way to becoming a top fighter with his latest pankration win at the United States Fight League National Championship, held at the BlueWater Resort and Casino in Parker, Ariz., on March 10. Friends and family both say his diligent training and admirable character were key to his success.
“I was very happy for him. He has worked extremely hard for this and he deserved it,” expressed his father and trainer Ken Lee. “It was good that a lot of my training paid off,” added Christian Lee.
A seasoned athlete, Christian Lee had already competed in and won numerous tournaments in the past. “His tournament rankings ranked him No. 1 contender for ‘head-to-head’ competition at this USA Championship,” said Ken Lee.
Even with this advantage, Christian Lee never slacked off in his preparations thanks to the support of his friends. “I trained, I trained a lot for the tournament, and (Freshman Josiah Talamantes) is one of my training partners and he helped me train too. I was motivated because it was a big opportunity for me and it was a big fight,” Christian Lee explained. Freshman John Carson V commented, “I’m pretty tall, so he used me to find points, how he would attack the guy because I’m like the same build as the guy he fought.”
While his intense training prepared him for any fight, friends and family both say that it is his character that enables him to succeed. “As an athlete, Christian has incredible talent, work ethic and perseverance. As a person, he is humble, sincere and one of the nicest people you will meet,” said Ken Lee. Talamantes echoed this, saying, “He doesn’t give up, his drive, like if you were to put him in a headlock he would knock out before he’d tap out.”
That didn’t seem to be a problem for Christian Lee, who managed to finish the first round of the match in 1 minute and 15 seconds via submission and eventually took home the coveted championship title. “Success at these competitions continue to show him that hard work pays off and any adversity can be overcome with discipline and hard work,” said Ken Lee.
While it might be some time until Christian Lee achieves his goal of becoming an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, his constant wins are making that dream closer to a reality. Only five days after his win in Arizona, he won another championship, and is preparing for more to come.
Though he has much on his plate, friends and family are confident in Christian Lee’s ability and all are looking forward to more future championship wins.
