“Nurture his career” - Christian Lee promises to guide younger brother Adrian every step of the way in his MMA journey

Reigning two-division ONE world champion Christian Lee looks forward to helping guide his younger brother's career in mixed martial arts.

Thus far, 18-year-old phenom Adrian Lee is off to a hell of a start, going 2-0 on martial arts' biggest global stage. Making his professional debut at ONE 167 in June, Adrian Lee landed an impressive second-round submission victory over Antonio Mammarella.

He quickly followed that up with an even more stunning victory — finishing Nico Cornejo at the 2:37 mark of their scrap at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado.

Christian Lee, who's fresh off his first fight in more than two years, spoke about Adrian's career and the role he's assumed in helping his brother rise up the ranks in ONE and add to the Lee family legacy.

"For me, there’s not too much for me to say, other than continuing to work hard and staying patient while you’re on your path," Christian Lee said on the DeWar Report with Val Dewar. "But there’s definitely a lot of things I can do to nurture his career and ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible."

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Christian Lee's return to ONE Championship ends in an unfortunate no contest

After a lengthy layoff following the tragic loss of his little sister and ONE Championship prospect Victoria Lee in December 2022, Christian Lee took time away from the fight game to both mourn and level up his skills.

On December 6, 'The Warrior' made his highly anticipated return to the ring, putting his ONE lightweight MMA world championship on the line against undefeated Dagestani wrestler Alibeg Rasulov.

After an entertaining and competitive opening round, disaster struck in the second stanza when Lee inadvertently poked Rasulov in the eye.

Sadly, Rasulov was unable to continue following the unintentional foul, resulting in their bout being dubbed a no-contest.

Presumably, the two will run it back sometime in 2025, but ONE Championship has not yet confirmed details of a potential rematch between the two. Lee has also left the door open to defend his other 26 pounds of gold — the ONE welterweight MMA world title.

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 26 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.