Who is Adriaan Lee?
As the youngest of the Lee siblings, Adrian has a huge legacy on his shoulders, but aside from the joke that he wanted to become a professional gamer, the student was so impressed by his family’s achievements that he knew he had to follow their path. Of course, there’s Adrian’s sister Angela Lee, who herself became the youngest MMA world champion of all time at the age of 19, and then there’s his brother Christian Lee, a confidante, coach and the current ONE champion in two weight divisions. Angela and his late sister, Victoria, were also champions of Hawaii State Wrestling – a rite of passage that Adrian Lee repeated in 2023. “Honestly, wrestling and winning that state title was just another way to just get some more experience,” he said. M&F. “Because I’ve really trained all martial arts since I was a kid. I grew up with MMA, kickboxing, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and when I went to high school, that was another way to get experience,”
What Adrian Lee learned from his first professional loss
By the time Adrian made his debut with ONE Championship on June 7, 2024, he had already built an enviable resume and added a national youth MMA title to his list of accomplishments. The Phenom won his debut ONE appearance and went on a 3-0 winning streak before a rear-naked choke from Tye Ruotolo handed him his first professional defeat, but there were still plenty of lessons to learn. “To be honest, I had a really hard time after that fight,” says Adrian. “My first loss was… it was really big for me, because I hate losing, and I wanted to win, over whatever, but I think, honestly, I just decided to get on with it and take as much advantage out of it as I could. I feel like my last fight was a huge learning experience.”
During that fateful fight, Lee showed a lot of courage, proving that he can take a beating and still get back up. The young fighter hopes to come back stronger when he takes on Shozo Isojima (6-1-0) at ONE Fight Night 40 on February 13 (February 14 in some time zones). “I think he’s a versatile fighter,” Adrian said of Isojima. “He’s also coming off that loss with Tye, and I think he’s a grinder, that’s what I would call his style. He’s able to just take guys down, hold them, ground them and pound them. You can’t underestimate guys like that.”
Adrian Lee’s change in mindset: staying calm under pressure
“I think one thing has definitely changed a lot: my experience and my ability to stay calm,” says Adrian. “Because my very first fight with ONE Championship was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. There was so much pressure. I thought, ‘I have to finish them in the first round, and all my siblings knocked out their opponents in their first round, their first fights, but I mean, now I can really take a step back. I know what to expect, I know how fight week goes, and so I just have to stay calm and enjoy the process.’
Adrian was his own fiercest critic after that first professional defeat, but it lit a huge fire in him. “I’ve basically been in camp since my last fight with Tye, just plugging holes and flaws in my game and really just trying to perfect myself as an MMA fighter,” he tells M&F. “Tackling some gameplan things that can be done specifically for Shozo, but are essentially more complete.”
Why 2026 could be Adrian Lee’s breakthrough year
“Honestly, I love sparring. I love competition,” says Adrian, explaining that the bond he has with brother Christian through training is something he enjoys. “There’s really nothing that can ever compare to the adrenaline I get, or the kind of excitement it gives me, when me and my brother are doing laps. Those are the most fun laps ever because, you know, they’re just so hard, I really love that competitive aspect.”
While Adrian is heavily focused on his all-important next fight, the young upstart also wants to make a big impact in 2026. “Going forward, I really want to stay active this year. So the last two years I’ve only had two fights a year, but this year I want to get four fights, maybe five fights. Because I’m still young, but I really want to achieve so much in this sport, and my body is healthy, and I just want to get more and more fights, more experience. I’m so lucky, you know, that I have a I have a double champion brother and a champion sister… they have created a formula that I can follow, and I can trust that it will also take me to the top.
Adrian “The Phenom” Lee will face Shozo “The Great Teacher” Isojima in a lightweight MMA match at ONE Fight Night 40: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger II, which will be broadcast live in American primetime from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday, February 13.
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