{"id":478491,"date":"2026-02-16T12:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/478491\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:37:08","slug":"a-great-day-in-the-office-adrian-lee-reflects-on-first-round-tko-of-shozo-isojima-at-one-fight-night-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/478491\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Great Day In The Office\u2019 \u2013 Adrian Lee Reflects On First-Round TKO Of Shozo Isojima At ONE Fight Night 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teenage MMA sensation Adrian \u201cThe Phenom\u201d Lee<\/a> turned heartbreak into fuel at ONE Fight Night 40: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger II on Prime Video<\/a>, weathering early adversity to announce his emphatic return to the winner\u2019s column.<\/p>\n

Competing this past Saturday, February 14, at Bangkok\u2019s legendary Lumpinee Stadium, the 19-year-old prodigy stormed back from his first career loss with a devastating first-round TKO victory over Japan\u2019s Shozo \u201cGreat Teacher\u201d Isojima<\/a> in their lightweight MMA clash.<\/p>\n

But the path to redemption was anything but smooth for the youngest competitor of the famed Lee family. Mere seconds into the opening frame, the Singaporean-American star found himself staring down the barrel of disaster.<\/p>\n

Isojima worked behind a stiff jab to counter Lee\u2019s forward pressure, finding his rhythm early with a crisp one-two that wobbled the teenager.<\/p>\n

Speaking to onefc.com<\/a>, the Prodigy Training Center product recalled how he averted the danger that nearly ended his night:<\/p>\n

\u201cI did get caught with that [punch], unfortunately. But at the end of the day, it\u2019s a fight, and anything can happen. That\u2019s just something I\u2019m glad that I exposed now so that I can work on cutting off all those holes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that shot, I wasn\u2019t too hurt. I still had my senses on me, and I was still able to get my strike entry into my takedown. But yeah, it definitely caught me off guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee entered this contest reeling from his September loss to ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo<\/a>, using that defeat as his blueprint.\u00a0Those lessons paid immediate dividends.<\/p>\n

The Hawaii-based dynamo shook off the direct hit. He dazzled with sharp combinations before executing a textbook double-leg takedown.<\/p>\n

From there, Lee sliced into mount and rained hellfire \u2014 punches and elbows that battered the Japanese warrior until the referee stopped the fight at the 2:56 minute mark.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his gutsy performance, \u201cThe Phenom\u201d shared:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ve been working on all camp. We always say we take whatever comes first, whether it\u2019s TKO or submission. In this case, it was the TKO. I was glad one of my elbows had cut him on his forehead. So it was a great day in the office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that surprised me was me getting caught with that [right hand]. Other than that, it all went as expected. I was able to keep my composure and execute my game plan. The only takeaway was I gotta tighten up my guard a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the victory, Lee proved his defeat to Ruotolo was merely a stumbling block, not a roadblock. That loss fueled his hunger rather than dampen his spirit.<\/p>\n

The hard work paid off in spectacular fashion, and the young star couldn\u2019t hide his satisfaction. More importantly, he discovered something crucial about himself.<\/p>\n

Lee continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like one thing that has definitely [improved] a lot was my composure in adversity. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve been working on constantly ever since that fight. Even though I faced some adversity in this fight, I was able to stay composed, stick to the game plan, and execute it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sport means everything to me. I dedicate my life to the sport, and all that matters is that I came out with the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee Praises Isojima, Eyes Quick Return To Japan<\/p>\n

Both Adrian Lee and Shozo Isojima entered ONE Fight Night 40 seeking redemption after heartbreaking setbacks.<\/p>\n

Despite the decisive outcome, Lee was quick to praise the Japanese standout\u2019s resilience and predicted he would rebound strongly from back-to-back defeats.<\/p>\n

The Singaporean-American offered:<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, he\u2019s a good fighter. He was 6-1, and I was glad to have this opportunity with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo hard feelings towards Shozo. It\u2019s just the fight business. He\u2019s tough, he has heart, he stayed in there for a while. Today was my day, and I\u2019m sure Shozo has some bright things in his future.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his slate now standing at 4-1, Lee sees 2026 as a year ripe with opportunity. He plans to use this momentum to climb the world\u2019s largest martial arts organization\u2019s lightweight MMA division.<\/p>\n

That same fearless mindset remains intact \u2014 he\u2019ll fight anyone, anytime. But the teenage phenom does have one preferred destination in mind.<\/p>\n

ONE is expected to return to Ariake Arena later this year. The venue holds special meaning for Lee, who submitted Takeharu Ogawa<\/a> via first-round anaconda choke at ONE 172<\/a> last March.<\/p>\n

The draw of Japan\u2019s martial arts tradition remains strong, and \u201cThe Phenom\u201d is eager for a swift return.<\/p>\n

He concluded:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, there\u2019s no one specific, but I\u2019d like to get a quick turnaround. Maybe that April card in Tokyo, I\u2019d love to be on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience was amazing. I love Japan, I love fighting in Japan, and I\u2019d love to get back in there if there are opportunities.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teenage MMA sensation Adrian \u201cThe Phenom\u201d Lee turned heartbreak into fuel at ONE Fight Night 40: Buntan vs.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-478491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}