18-year-old teenage sensation Adrian “The Phenom” Lee is set to compete in his second professional MMA bout when he takes on Nico “The Steel City Kid” Cornejo at ONE 168: Denver. The Singaporean-American fighting star is one of the most touted fighters in the promotion right now. Lee brings with him a poise and polish that is beyond his years, having grown up in a family that is deeply entrenched in the world of combat sports. 

His professional MMA debut was against Antonio Mammarella at ONE 167 this past June. Lee is seen as a future star like his World Champion siblings Christian “The Warrior” Lee and “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.

Lee was born in Oahu, Hawaii, to a Singaporean father and a South Korean mother who were both veteran martial artists. Just like his siblings Angela,  Christian, and the late Victoria “The Prodigy” Lee, Adrian was also introduced to dojo from a very young age. Given the fact that Adrian comes from a strict martial arts background with most family members in the business, opponents might find him intimidating.

However, that’s not the case for Cornejo. ‘The Steel City Kid’ knows that his 18-year-old opponent has spent most of his life training with world-class martial artists, but the father of three has faith in his capabilities as well.

During an interview with ONE Championship, Cornejo said, “When you come from a family like [the Lees] that’s dedicated to the fighting organization that they’ve come up to, you can have all the accomplishments in the world, but I’ll tell you one thing – my grind, and my relentlessness, and my dedication, and my heart that I give every fight outweighs talent. And he is a talented kid. I will not take that away from him. I’ve seen his record. I’ve seen a couple of his videos, and he does put in the work. But hey, so do I, too.”

With this in mind, Cornejo feels that the world is going to see his tenacity on September 6.

Nico Cornejo warns Adrian Lee ahead of their match

Colorado native Nico “The Steel City Kid” Cornejo is set to collide with Adrian Lee in a lightweight MMA fight at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. This is an opportunity for the 35-year-old to defeat one of the most hyped stars in the promotion right now. He has already done the homework on his opponent and was pretty impressed by the young star.

He is aware of his strengths and weaknesses as well. Cornejo grew up playing a lot of sports, especially because he wanted to keep his mind straight. He had a tough childhood with a lot of moving back and forth from one place to another. However, after he realized that he was going to be a father as a teenager, all athleticism and hobbies took a backseat. As his children started to grow older, he realized that he could give time to his dream of becoming an athlete. In 2019 he started training in mixed martial arts. Now 2-0 as a professional fighter, Cornejo will be fighting on the biggest stage of his career on home turf. 

He expressed his stance in a ONE Championship interview and said, “I don’t have the accomplishments of a state wrestler, anything like that. But man, if it’s one thing you know for sure, you know Colorado wrestlers, we’re tough. Don’t mess with wrestlers from Colorado.” Nevertheless, Cornejo is aware of what he is up against and is preparing in full form.

Nico Cornejo Up For A Tough Challenge at ONE 168

Adrian Lee is one of the most promising athletes at ONE Championship and as a member of the famous Lee family, he knows what he has to uphold. His siblings, Christian holds both the ONE Lightweight and Welterweight MMA World Titles, while Angela enjoyed a career as the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion before her retirement in September 2023.

Lee’s first fight was against Antonio Mammarella at ONE 167 which he won via submission in round 2. He had to show everyone why he was the most promising prospect and he kept his end of the bargain. Lee was already dominating in the first round and then turned things up in round two. ‘The Phenom’ took Mammarella to the ground and secured control of his opponent’s back with a rear naked choke to finish his performance.

So this makes him a formidable opponent, however, Cornejo also has an upper hand because he is a Colorado native. With the the fight is taking place in his hometown, the altitude is not going to be a problem for him. However, he still is not taking the 18-year-old lightly.

Cornejo is looking to score a huge upset against his highly touted opponent. A victory over Lee is going to give Cornejo some solid credibility and make his presence felt at ONE Championship. Are you excited to witness this one-of-a-kind fight?