When Tye Ruotolo called out Adrian “The Phenom” Lee for his MMA debut, the 19-year-old Hawaiian couldn’t help but question the submission grappling champion’s decision-making. Now, at ONE Fight Night 35 on September 5 at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, Lee plans to show exactly why experience matters in mixed martial arts.
“I was on my trip with my girlfriend. I saw [an article] pop up. It was like, ‘Tye Ruotolo wants to fight Adrian Lee,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,'” Lee recalled.
The youngest member of the legendary Lee fighting family accepted the challenge, but he remains convinced that the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion has underestimated the complexity of transitioning to mixed martial arts.
“Later on, they sent over the contracts, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll take it. That’s a great fight for me.’ I don’t think that it is the smartest decision for his debut fight, but it is what it is,” Lee said.
Lee’s confidence stems from understanding what separates grappling excellence from MMA success. While he respects Ruotolo’s incredible achievements – an 8-0 run in ONE Championship with two title defenses – he believes the addition of strikes changes everything.
“He’s a great grappler. He’s very accomplished, but that’s grappling. Grappling and MMA are very different. You can’t just practice MMA for two years and think you’re ready to go pro. Even though he’s been doing grappling since he was a kid, I’ve been doing MMA since I was a kid. So, I think that’s gonna show on fight night,” Lee said.
The undefeated prospect brings his own impressive resume: three consecutive ONE Championship victories, all by finish, all earning $50,000 performance bonuses. His systematic approach sees opportunities across all phases of mixed martial arts.
“I’m gonna be a completely different MMA fighter, or even opponent, that he has ever faced. I really feel like I’m gonna excel everywhere in this fight,” Lee said. “Honestly, I’d say [this could end with a] first or second round finish. I could see it going multiple ways.”
Lee’s preparation has been comprehensive. Understanding Ruotolo’s grappling caliber, he flew BJJ black belt siblings Jonata and Jansen Gomes to Hawaii to simulate the submission pressure and pace he expects.
“The Ruotolo brothers, they’re both very fast. They’re very slick with their submissions. They’ve got good cardio, and they got a good pace,” Lee said.
Guided by his brother Christian Lee, the reigning two-division ONE MMA World Champion, Adrian has studied Kade Ruotolo’s perfect 3-0 MMA record to understand the family’s approach to competition.
“Training has been real good,” he said. “We flew down some great grapplers for this camp, and I really feel that by fight night, I’m gonna be well prepared. I’ve covered all areas.”
