ONE lightweight MMA rising star Adrian Lee believes getting punched in the face isn’t all that bad.
The 18-year-old prodigy, of course, recently recently had his first taste of professional mixed martial arts when he put a beatdown on Antonio Mammarella at ONE 167 last June.
While ‘The Phenom’ passed that test with flying colors, he did take some damage from the gutsy Australian.
Appearing in a fun interview courtesy of ESPN Honolulu, Lee admitted that getting hit in the middle of battle doesn’t hurt initially, especially with the power of adrenaline coursing through his body:
“It hurts, sometimes. In a fight, you don’t really feel it cause of all the adrenaline and all. But like, if you punch me [now], it’ll probably hurt.”
To be fair, Lee is tough as nails so he definitely can take a hard punch. The Prodigy Training Center athlete has pretty much been around martial arts for most of his life, which makes fighting seem like second nature for him.
The Singaporean-American teenage sensation will look to build off that victory when he makes his sophomore outing at ONE 168: Denver this coming September 6, where he’ll take on Nico Cornejo in a three-round barnburner at Ball Arena.
Adrian Lee admits he’s still getting used to staredowns
MMA fighters size each other up during their weigh-in staredowns, a concept that Adrian Lee is still trying to grasp.
In the same interview, the 18-year-old revealed how he felt uneasy during the customary pleasantries, but has found a way to stay focused:
“Not really. I try to figure out where to look. Because I don’t know if I should look at his left eye or right eye. And if you’re looking at both, your eyes are going back and forth.”
