Japanese Judoka Shozo Isojima Plans Patient Takedown of Adrian Lee’s Explosive Aggression
Shozo Isojima sees what everyone else watching Adrian Lee misses — a 19-year-old phenom whose explosive finishing ability masks critical weaknesses in technical development. The rest of the MMA world marvels at three consecutive submission victories in increasingly faster times, culminating in a 63-second demolition of Takeharu Ogawa. The 28-year-old Japanese judoka studies those same highlights and identifies exploitable patterns.
The two lightweights finally meet at ONE Fight Night 40: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger II on Prime Video on Friday, February 13, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, after their original ONE 172 booking fell through due to Isojima’s knee injury. Now fully healthy and battle-tested from his previous bout against ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo, the same man who handed Lee his first professional loss last September — Isojima believes he’s identified the path to victory.
“The moment the fight starts, he just rushes forward and throws strikes continuously,” Isojima said. “So that momentum, that youthfulness — I’m training to make sure I don’t get caught up in it.”
The preparation extends beyond simply surviving Lee’s initial onslaught. The second-degree judo black belt has identified what he sees as a fundamental flaw in the Hawaiian’s game — overreliance on that explosive start that betrays a lack of depth in mixed martial arts’ technical aspects. When Lee’s signature aggression fails to produce an early finish, Isojima believes the younger fighter’s inexperience will be exposed.
“I don’t think he’s quite there yet in terms of the finer details of creating transitions and developments,” Isojima explained. “If the fight goes long rounds, I’m not sure how it would end, but I think that could be a weak point.”
That assessment carries particular weight given Lee’s most recent performance. Against Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 35, the teenager’s aggressive start was neutralized, and once his opponent established control, Lee struggled to adapt. The fight ended with Ruotolo securing a rear-naked choke in the second round, marking the first loss of Lee’s professional career and revealing exactly the kind of vulnerability Isojima plans to exploit.
“My strength is in the clinch — my transitions and developments when we’re tied up,” Isojima said. “I think I can establish control there.”
The Japanese fighter plans to weaponize his judo expertise in close quarters, where he believes his technical prowess will overwhelm Lee’s raw athleticism. Isojima has made his living from trips and throws in the clinch, and he sees it as the perfect environment to impose his game plan while draining Lee’s explosive energy systematically.
His own loss to Ruotolo last November provided invaluable lessons he’s eager to apply. Rather than making excuses, Isojima acknowledged he failed to prepare for the shortened turnaround between fights, believing he could handle what proved to be an insufficient camp. But something crucial emerged from that first-round submission defeat.
“Facing a top-level grappler like Tye Ruotolo, I didn’t feel like there was some tremendous physical difference,” Isojima said. “So I felt like if I properly prepare and step onto that stage, I can compete. That was a huge learning experience. At the Tokyo event, when I fought Tye Ruotolo, even though I ended up getting pushed back in the first round, in that moment when we clinched, I didn’t really feel his power. So I think I can compete with world-class fighters there. I want to apply what I learned from that experience.”
With improved conditioning and a clear understanding of what to expect from Lee’s aggressive opening, Isojima has developed a specific timeline for how he envisions the fight unfolding. His game plan centers on patience and technical superiority once the initial storm passes.
“If Adrian comes rushing in with momentum, I think I can weather that and then in the second round take a dominant position, score points, or get close to a finish,” Isojima said. “But if he comes out measuring things in that first rush, I think it could really be a tough three-round decision.”
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