Nico Cornejo has come a long way in his martial arts career, and he’s about to take the biggest step yet. 

The Colorado native will make his ONE Championship debut in his backyard when he takes on rising star Adrian “The Phenom” Lee in a lightweight MMA battle at ONE 168: Denver – the promotion’s triumphant return to U.S. soil inside Denver’s Ball Arena – on Friday, September 6.

Money was what Nico Cornejo had to focus on

Cornejo competed in multiple sports growing up, but he never got a chance to focus on one that he always had a keen eye for as more important commitments took over his life.

“The competition for wrestling, I wish I would have been focused more on it,” he told ONE in an interview. 

“However, I did have a job, and my main focus was making money, and I was a young father. I was a teenage father. So I had to provide for my son on the way.”

Raising a family, unsurprisingly, meant that Cornejo had to put a pause on any athletic pursuits. 

However, martial arts was never too far from his mind, and he eventually decided to give his unquenchable interest some focus, which meant he had to work hard to get back into shape.

“I had a lot of reserve left in me, and in 2019 is when I decided to make that journey into the MMA world. I’ve been rocking and rolling ever since. I’ve lost close to almost 100 pounds. 

My heaviest I got was 245 pounds. That much weight on a small stature like me, you know, that’s a lot. I was able to focus on my diet along with my boys,” Cornejo said.

Cornejo credits his teenage fatherhood for his early maturity

The Warrior Built MMA and Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu athlete built a respectable amateur career between 2019 and 2022, going undefeated in five bouts. He turned professional in 2023 and has remained unbeaten across two outings.

At ONE 168, he’ll be looking to cause a stir in front of his hometown crowd. However, Cornejo will have to put down the challenge of Adrian Lee, who comes from the famed Lee fighting family and already has a win in the world’s largest martial arts organization, to do it. 

Many fighters would be intimidated by such a task, but the 34-year-old wrestler believes his life path has prepared him well for whatever happens on September 6.

“Being a young father, you had to grow up fast. Really fast,” Cornejo said. 

“Having a kid at a young age definitely matured me as an adult – having my priorities, knowing what my priorities needed to be, and being there for my kids.”