“I knew what to expect” - Adrian Lee experience cornering siblings helped him ease his nerves ahead of ONE debut

Being in the corner of his famous fighting family helped ease Adrian Lee's nerves ahead of his own professional mixed martial arts debut.

Coming from one of the most famous fighting families of all time, the accomplished amateur fighter has some pretty big shoes to fill as he steps inside the Circle to fight for the first time on Friday, June 7.

Competing at ONE 167 inside the sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, Adrian Lee will square off with Australian standout Antonio Mammarella.

Speaking with the South China Morning Post ahead of his big premiere on martial arts' biggest stage, Adrian Lee spoke about the years he spent cornering his famous fighting family, including Angela, Christian, and the late Victoria, and how that experience prepared him for his own turn inside the Circle.

“I was lucky enough to have gone through all these events with my siblings so I knew what to expect," Lee said. "It's truly inspiring to see my role models, Christian, Angela, and Victoria in action and I was I'm so lucky that I've been able to go to all these events with them.”

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Adrian Lee's road to ONE 167

Adrian Lee is the youngest of the four Lee children, all of whom made their ONE Championship debuts as teenagers.

The first was Angela Lee, who would go on to become the promotion's first-ever and longest-reigning atomweight MMA world champion. She held onto the crown for seven years before vacating the title at ONE Fight Night 14, when she announced her retirement from the sport.

Not far behind 'Unstoppable' was Christian Lee, who made his ONE debut seven months after Angela. Like his sister, 'The Warrior' dominated the competition en route to winning not one, but two world titles — the ONE lightweight and welterweight world championships.

He still holds both of those belts to this very day.

Then there's Victoria Lee, an MMA prodigy, who backed up her hype with each match on the global stage. Making her debut in February 2021, she won three straight bouts, two submissions, and a knockout, establishing herself as the next big thing in the atomweight division.

Sadly, Victoria passed away in December 2022 before she could make her way back to the Circle.

Will ONE Championship fans see the start of a new Lee family legacy when Adrien Lee follows in the footsteps of his beloved siblings?

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.