Singaporean-American warrior Adrian Lee aims to return to winning ways when he returns to the global stage of ONE Championship, and he admits his last outing has provided him with valuable insights into the flaws within his arsenal.
‘The Phenom’ racked up three successive finishes to get his professional tenure and promotional slate to a dream start. The 19-year-old overcame Antonio Mammarella, Nico Cornejo, and Takeharu Ogawa via submission.
However, his perfect run came to an end when he squared off against ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo, who beat him via rear-naked choke in their lightweight MMA tilt at ONE Fight Night 35 last September.
Ahead of his return to action at ONE Fight Night 40, where he faces Shozo Isojima in the same weight bracket, Adrian Lee reflected on his defeat to the Tenore martial artist, admitting that it served as a lesson on why he needed to upgrade his craft.
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“That fight with Tye, it was a rough one. When I was in that ring with Tye, it was kind of new. Tye was definitely the highest caliber opponent I’ve fought so far, and I think it was definitely a little bit of a shocker,” the Prodigy Training Center athlete shared.
Adrian Lee added, “I didn’t think that he’d get under me so fast and that he’d get right into the takedown. I went right into his world. It kind of just started off on a bad foot and kept going his way throughout that fight. So, there was definitely a lot to learn.”
Shozo Isojima aims to complete redemption vs. Adrian Lee
‘The Phenom’ will be out to prove just how much he’s grown when he faces Isojima inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, February 13.
However, like Lee, the Japanese fighter is out to return to winning ways after seeing his pristine record taken away by the very same man last November.
The 28-year-old arrived in the world’s largest martial arts organization with a 5-0 record. In his debut, he moved to 6-0 with a cracking second-round TKO finish of Argentinian dynamo Nicolas Vigna.
But Tye Ruotolo brought an end to his magical run when he forced Isojima to tap to a rear-naked choke in round one at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri in Tokyo last November.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch Adrian Lee vs. Shozo Isojima and the entire ONE Fight Night 40 card for free, live in U.S. primetime, on Friday, February 13.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
