“Can’t wait to watch him put on a show” - Christian Lee hyped for his brother Adrian Lee’s Denver tilt against Nico Cornejo
Christian Lee has his world title defense to worry about, but he'll never forget his responsibility as his younger brother Adrian's coach and mentor.
Adrian, the youngest of the famed Lee siblings, will have his second match under ONE Championship when he takes on American brawler Nico Cornejo in a lightweight MMA bout at ONE 168: Denver.
The Colorado card is ONE Championship's second event in the United States and will go down on September 6 at Ball Arena. Nearly a month before Adrian heads to the Circle, his older brother Christian expressed his excitement over social media.
The reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion wrote on Instagram:
"Four weeks out before #ThePhenom is back in action. I can't wait to watch him put on a show in Colorado! #ONE168."
Christian Lee served as Adrian's head coach when the 18-year-old star made his ONE Championship debut at ONE 167 against Antonio Mammarella this past June in Bangkok.
Adrian showed flashes of brilliance and submitted Mammarella with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their high-paced matchup.
Christian, meanwhile, will make his highly anticipated return in ONE Championship's next U.S. card.
The two-division world champion will defend the ONE lightweight MMA world title against the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov at ONE 169: Atlanta at State Farm Arena.
Christian's world title defense against Rasulov will be the first match he'll get into since beating Kiamrian Abbasov for the welterweight MMA throne in November 2022.
The 26-year-old star took a sabbatical following the untimely death of his younger sister, Victoria, in December 2022.
Tickets for ONE 168 and ONE 169 are available at Ticketmaster.
Alibeg Rasulov tells Christian Lee to get ready for oncoming showdown in Atlanta
Alibeg Rasulov made an instant impression in ONE Championship after he scored a unanimous decision win over Ok Rae Yoon in his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 23.
The Turkish standout, who has a perfect 14-0 record, dominated Ok throughout the match and quickly aimed at Christian Lee following the win. In his post-fight interview with the South China Morning Post, Rasulov issued a short yet chilling warning to Christian.
"I'm coming. Just get better and get ready."
Watch the full interview below: