Adrian “The Phenom” Lee picked up his second victory in two professional fights at ONE 168: Denver last Friday and further solidified his status as the most exciting rising star in MMA.
This time, the 18-year-old Hawaii native dominated Nico “The Steel City Kid” Cornejo en route to a first-round submission victory at Ball Arena in Colorado.
Now 2-0 in the world’s largest martial arts organization with two quick finishes, Lee is proud of his performance, which earned him a well-deserved US$50,000 bonus.
While he was equally dominant in his debut in June at ONE 167, “The Phenom” says that he felt much better this time around.
He told onefc.com:
“I’m so happy with how this fight went. It couldn’t have gone any better. We got that first-round finish, and after having that first fight, getting all the first-fight jitters out, coming into this fight, I was a lot more comfortable.”
Indeed, Lee looked far more experienced than a teenager who is still in the early stages of his career.
As the younger brother to reigning two-division ONE MMA World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee and former ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Angela Lee, he has a lifetime of elite mixed martial arts training under his belt.
Against Cornejo, Lee followed the strategy laid out by his older siblings – dominate every aspect of the fight and secure the finish as soon as possible:
“The plan was to be composed and to execute our game plan. Get in there, strike with him, then take him down and ultimately submit him or TKO him.”
Lee knows that, given his family background, the MMA world has incredibly high expectations for him.
Still, he admits that becoming a globally recognized ONE superstar at just 18 years old is special:
“It’s truly amazing. It still seems surreal, looking back when I was younger, that I got to the point that I am right now.”
Adrian Lee Sets Massive Goals In Combat Sports
Adrian Lee is one of the most talked-about young talents in MMA, but he is already setting his sights on more than just one sport.
Naturally, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of his siblings and capture ONE Championship gold. Even further, he aims to become an all-around martial arts icon:
“I plan to be the greatest combat sports and MMA fighter of all time.”
To that end, “The Phenom” is confident in his ability to compete in any of ONE’s combat sports disciplines – including submission grappling, Muay Thai, and kickboxing.
He added:
“As I’ve trained in MMA my entire life, I believe that I’m skilled enough to enter any other discipline.”
