‘I’m Gonna Match His Hustle’ – Nico Cornejo Plans To Beat Adrian Lee Wherever The Fight Goes
Colorado native Nico “The Steel City Kid” Cornejo plans to play the role of spoiler when he takes on teenage standout Adrian “The Phenom” Lee at ONE 168: Denver on September 6.
The two are set to collide in a lightweight MMA fight at Ball Arena, and for Cornejo, it will be his opportunity to defeat one of the most hyped young stars in recent memory.
Lee is the younger brother to reigning two-division ONE MMA World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee and former atomweight MMA queen Angela Lee. He made his highly anticipated professional debut in June at ONE 167, picking up a dominant second-round submission victory over Antonio Mammarella.
Cornejo, who will be making his ONE debut in front of a rowdy Colorado crowd, has done his homework on “The Phenom” and is impressed by what he’s seen.
But by that same token, “The Steel City Kid” has supreme confidence in his own abilities – whether it’s striking or grappling.
He spoke to onefc.com about his upcoming battle with Lee:
“I don’t see a lot that I can pick apart. I see a lot of his strengths. His striking ability is amazing.
“I know in my previous bouts that a lot of mine are wrestling. I outgrappled my opponents, but I do have striking on reserve if I need it. I’ve had a lot of doubters say that I don’t have the striking, but no one has been able to stop my wrestling, either.”
Unbeaten as both an amateur and a professional, Cornejo has employed powerful takedowns and heavy ground-and-pound to establish himself as one of Colorado’s highly touted homegrown talents.
Meanwhile, Lee was a Hawaii State Wrestling Champion who has also used a grappling-based attack thus far in his amateur and professional fights.
The 34-year-old, though, feels ready to test his wrestling against Lee’s:
“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.”
Ultimately, Cornejo’s approach at ONE 168 is simple – beat his foe in all phases of combat and gun for the highlight-reel finish:
“I’m gonna come out, I’m gonna match his hustle. My plan is to go out there, and if he wants to match striking for striking, we’ll match striking for striking. If he wants to wrestle, we’ll wrestle, too.
“I’m looking for that KO or the TKO. You know, if I get a submission, I get a submission. Either way, I’m finishing the fight.”
Cornejo Not Intimidated By The Lee Name
Given Adrian Lee’s famous fighting family, many opponents might find themselves intimidated. However, that’s certainly not the case with Nico Cornejo.
“The Steel City Kid” knows that his 18-year-old foe has already spent a lifetime training alongside world-class mixed martial artists, but the proud father of three simply trusts in his own training and work ethic.
With that in mind, Cornejo is confident the world will see the fruits of his labor on September 6:
“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 each and 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.”
