Adrian Lee interested in testing his skills in pure grappling: "I fully believe I can keep up with anybody"

Adrian Lee has expressed his desire to test his grappling abilities in pure submission competition, demonstrating confidence in his ground skills despite focusing primarily on mixed martial arts.

The 19-year-old Hawaiian-American prospect addressed his interest in grappling-only competition ahead of his lightweight MMA clash with ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 35 inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium on September 5.

While speaking with the South China Morning Post, Adrian Lee said:

"Yeah, you know, I'd definitely be interested in getting in a grappling match as well. I feel like even though I haven't been competing in these mainstream grappling tournaments, I fully believe that I can keep up with anybody."

Lee's interest in pure grappling demonstrates his willingness to test his skills across different competitive formats beyond traditional MMA competition.

Perhaps 'The Phenom's confidence stems from his extensive wrestling background, which includes capturing the 2023 Hawaii High School State Wrestling Championship alongside four National Youth MMA titles.

The Prodigy Training Center representative also trains on the regular alongside his elder brother and two-division MMA world champion Christian Lee, whose ground game acumen is right up there among the best.

Watch his full interview here:

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Adrian Lee focused on Tye Ruotolo assignment at ONE Fight Night 35

For now, the teenager will focus on Ruotolo, who makes his MMA debut in their lightweight tilt at ONE Fight Night 35.

Adrian Lee enters this pivotal bout carrying a perfect 3-0 record with three first-round submission victories.

Ruotolo, on the other hand, remains undefeated in the promotion, though all of his eight wins have come inside the submission grappling realm. He further added:

"I always take it fight by fight. You know, after this fight, I'm just going to get back in the gym and I'm just going to be working my a** off. You know, I train day in and day out, so I'm prepared for whoever they're going to give me next."

Could he make it 4-0 on September 5? North American fans can watch this barnburner lightweight showdown live in U.S. primetime with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

ONE Fight Night 35 inside the Lumpinee Stadium will be headlined by a ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai matchup between Jackie Buntan and Austrian dynamo Stella Hemetesberger.