Adrian Lee says submission finish of Nico Cornejo wasn't on his bingo card: "Was planning to do a bunch of other stuff"

After successfully displaying his elite grappling and submission skills in his ONE Championship debut against Antonio Mammarella, Adrian Lee was eager to showcase the other aspects of his MMA skills in his bout against Nico Cornejo at ONE 168: Denver last September 2024.

The 19-year-old phenom revealed this in a video he uploaded on his YouTube channel, saying that he wanted a knockout finish against 'The Steel City Kid,' but another submission finish presented itself, which is why he went for it, as he explained:

"I was planning to do a bunch of other stuff. Like a knockout or something. But I always take what's given to me first, and that was the rear naked choke again. So, that's what I did."

Watch Adrian Lee's video here:

Despite not finishing the match in his original plan, 'The Phenom' still impressed in his second fight under the world's largest martial arts organization, so much so that ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong awarded him with a $50,000 bonus from that win over Cornejo.

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Adrian Lee promises more swift finishes in succeeding matches in ONE Championship

The Prodigy Training Center representative scored the fastest win of his young career when he forced a tap out of Takeharu Ogawa in his previous fight last March 23 at ONE 172 with an Anaconda choke that only lasted for 63 seconds.

But the Singaporean-American MMA star vowed to have more quick wins in future fights, as he told Nick Atkin of the Bangkok Post in his post-fight interview at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan:

"Thank you to all my fans who tuned in and watched the fight. I know it was pretty quick, but I plan to make the next one faster."

Fans can rewatch all the action at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang via watch.onefc.com.