Nico Cornejo has come a long way in his martial arts career and is about to take his biggest step yet.

The Colorado native will make his ONE Championship debut in his backyard when he faces rising star Adrian “The Phenomenon” Lee in an MMA lightweight bout at ONE 168: Denver – the promotion’s triumphant return to U.S. soil at Denver’s Ball Arena – on Friday, September 6.

Nico Cornejo had to concentrate on money

Cornejo competed in several sports during his youth, but never had the opportunity to focus on a sport for which he always had a keen eye, as more important commitments took up his life.

“I wish I had focused more on competing in wrestling,” he told ONE in an interview.

“But I had a job and my main concern was making money. And I was a young father. I was a teenage father. So I had to take care of my son on the side.”

Not surprisingly, Cornejo had to put all sporting activities on hold to start a family.

However, martial arts never left him alone and at some point he decided to focus on his insatiable interest, which meant he had to work hard to get back in shape.

“I still had a lot of reserves in me and in 2019 I decided to dive into the MMA world. Since then I’ve been fully involved. I’ve lost almost 45 kilos.

My highest weight was 245 pounds. That much weight for someone as small as me is a lot. I was able to focus on my diet together with my boys,” said Cornejo.

Cornejo attributes his early maturity to his fatherhood as a teenager

The Warrior Built MMA and Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu athlete built a respectable amateur career between 2019 and 2022, remaining undefeated in five fights. He turned pro in 2023 and remained undefeated in two fights.

He wants to make waves in front of his home crowd at ONE 168. To do this, however, Cornejo will have to challenge Adrian Lee, who comes from the famous Lee fighting family and already has one victory under his belt in the largest martial arts organization in the world.

Many fighters would dread such a task, but the 34-year-old wrestler believes that his life path has prepared him well for whatever happens on September 6th.

“As a young father, you had to grow up fast. Really fast.” said Cornejo.

“Having a child at a young age definitely made me more mature as an adult – I had my priorities, knew what my priorities needed to be, and was there for my children.”