Adrian Lee and the Ties That Bind

Adrian Lee walked across a stage to accept his high school diploma one month ago. He will take a different kind of stroll on Friday, when he heads to the cage for his professional mixed martial arts debut under the ONE Championship banner.

The 18-year-old faces Australia’s Antonio Mammarella in a ONE 167 lightweight showcase at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Some fighters might sweat bullets ahead of their pro debut on such a high-profile stage, but Lee’s pedigree has prepared him for the moment. The youngest brother of ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee, former women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee and the late Victoria Lee, he comes from a royal fighting family and carries that confidence into competition.

“I’m so lucky to have been born in my family,” Lee told Sherdog.com. “We are competitive in the sense that we want to improve each other. We’re not big on comparing each other. We just want each one of us to reach our goals.”

As the baby of the family, Lee has waited patiently for his time to shine. Older brother Christian serves as his main coach, and the experience of training with the world champion has proven invaluable.

“It’s very reassuring because they’ve done it all and laid it out,” Lee said. “I get to see step by step what it takes to get where I want.”

While Lee handled the academic and social pressures associated with high school, he claimed a Hawaii state wrestling championship. It was not always easy balancing the books with his training schedule.

“Now that I’ve finally graduated high school, I can finally put all my focus on MMA,” Lee said. “Training for this fight while going to school wasn’t too hard, but I had to work around the school schedule.”

Although Lee dominated the high school wrestling ranks, professional MMA figures to be a different beast. Mammarella is six years older and enters their bout on the heels of a technical knockout against Aremiti Tinirau in December. Lee remains extremely confident in his training and cannot wait to put it on display.

“I hope that the fans take away that they’re in for an exciting time,” he said. “Every fight’s going to be a good one, so just make sure you’re watching.”