Undefeated MMA fighter Adrian Lee is trying to spoil Tye Ruotolo’s MMA debut and make a press release. The Hawaiian teen star will put his good skilled document on the road towards the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion in a light-weight MMA conflict at ONE Struggle Evening 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Friday, September 5, at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The extremely anticipated bout will see Lee defend his spotless 3-0 document towards the embellished BJJ stylist, who will compete in blended martial arts for the primary time ever.
Adrian Lee Questioned Ruotolo’s Daring Callout Choice
The 19-year-old Adrian Lee was initially stunned when Ruotolo referred to as him out following his submission grappling title protection towards Dante Leon in Might 2025. The youngest member of the distinguished Lee household didn’t count on to be the goal of such an bold debut request.
“I used to be on my journey with my girlfriend. I noticed [an article] pop up. It was like, ‘Tye Ruotolo needs to struggle Adrian Lee,’ and I used to be like, ‘What?’ I used to be like, ‘I don’t assume that’s a good suggestion.’ Afterward, they despatched over the contracts, and I used to be like, ‘You realize what? I’ll take it. That’s an incredible struggle for me.’ I don’t assume that it’s the smartest resolution for his debut struggle, however it’s what it’s,” Adrian Lee revealed.
Regardless of his preliminary hesitation, “The Phenom” acknowledges the chance to face such a high-profile opponent. The Singaporean-American has established himself as considered one of MMA’s most promising younger stars with three consecutive submission victories and excellent one hundred pc ending charge.
Expertise Hole Might Show Decisive for Adrian Lee on September 5
Whereas Adrian Lee acknowledges Ruotolo’s distinctive jiu-jitsu credentials because the reigning grappling king, he believes the transition to MMA presents important challenges that favor his intensive blended martial arts background.
“He’s an incredible grappler. He’s very completed, however that’s grappling. Grappling and MMA are very totally different. You may’t simply apply MMA for 2 years and assume you’re able to go professional. Regardless that he’s been doing grappling since he was a child, I’ve been doing MMA since I used to be a child. So, I believe that’s gonna present on struggle evening,” Lee defined.
Lee comes from martial arts royalty, following within the footsteps of his siblings Christian Lee and Angela Lee beneath the ONE Championship banner. His complete ability set and decisive ending charge recommend Ruotolo’s MMA debut could possibly be a frightening problem.
Adrian Lee Predicts Early End Towards Grappling Champion
Adrian Lee enters the competition with supreme confidence, believing his expertise will overwhelm the submission grappling sensation throughout all aspects of fight. Finally, he doesn’t envision Ruotolo’s MMA debut to final too lengthy.
“I’m gonna be a very totally different MMA fighter, and even opponent, that he has ever confronted. I actually really feel like I’m gonna beat him in every single place on this struggle. Truthfully, I’d say [this could end with a] first or second spherical knockout, TKO, or submission. I might see it going all 3 ways,” Lee predicted.
ONE Struggle Evening 35 airs reside on Prime Video on Friday, September 5. The motion begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The occasion is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers within the U.S. and Canada.