Nico “The Steel City Kid” Cornejo has chosen the spectacular path to become part of the largest martial arts organization in the world, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Colorado native will make his ONE Championship debut on September 6 in U.S. primetime at ONE 168: Denver when he faces Singaporean-American rising star Adrian “The Phenom” Lee in a highly anticipated MMA lightweight bout at Ball Arena.
Before he steps into the circle for the first time and competes in his home state, Cornejo spoke to onefc.com about his rocky road into the world of elite mixed martial arts.
An athlete from the start
Cornejo remembers a wild childhood spent cycling, exploring and playing every sport imaginable, accumulating plenty of bumps, bruises and scars along the way.
He explained:
“Growing up, I was definitely a troublemaker and got into a lot of trouble. Nothing really illegal, thank God, but yeah, I was more outgoing, I liked camping, being outside, riding my bike. I never liked being at home. I just roamed the neighborhood as much as I could.”
Given his boundless energy as a child, it’s no surprise that he excelled in sports. And although he competed in many different sports, it was wrestling that captured the youngster’s attention most of the time.
Despite his amazing athletic ability and innate talent for wrestling, Cornejo was never able to fully devote himself to the sport as he became a father at just 16 years old.
He said:
“Growing up, in elementary school and middle school, I was very good. And then when I got to high school, I was a typical athlete, football and wrestling. I even did swimming for two years. I did track for one year.
“I wish I had focused more on competitive wrestling. But I had a job and my main focus was making money. Plus, I was a young father. I was a teenage father. So I had to take care of my son on the side.”
Growing up quickly
With the birth of his son, Cornejo’s sporting dreams had to be put on hold as he shifted his priorities to being the best father possible.
He says fatherhood has forced him to grow up faster than other teenagers.
Cornejo explained:
“As a young father, you had to grow up fast. Really fast.
“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.”
After high school, the young father left wrestling, competition and athletics behind and instead focused on his family life. Over time, he had two more children – another boy and a girl.
Children weren’t the only thing that enriched Cornejo’s life. His weight ballooned to nearly 250 pounds. It wasn’t until 2019, after more than a decade off from wrestling and athletics, that he made the fateful decision to dive into MMA.
The native Coloradan said:
“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. At my heaviest I weighed 111 kilos. That much weight for someone as small as me is a lot. I was able to concentrate on my diet together with my boys.”
Everything for his children
Now 34, Cornejo does not regret the time he spent in the sport, knowing that his first commitment was to his children.
He said:
“The time I took was all for my boys and I made sure my boys knew I was there for them. I didn’t do any training. I was in that dad mode.”
From 2019 to 2022, Cornejo compiled a perfect amateur MMA record and earned the nickname “The Steel City Kid” thanks to his youthful looks. He turned pro in 2023 and picked up two stoppage victories to catch the attention of ONE Championship.
However, the turning point in his life came earlier, in 2018. After a painful divorce from the mother of his children, he realized that if he wanted to take care of his children, he had to take care of himself first.
Cornejo said:
“That’s when I decided it was my turn to take care of myself. And my kids are still taken care of. I just went through this process – I have to take care of myself because if I don’t take care of myself, how am I going to take care of my kids?”
This decision should prove to be a wise one, as Cornejo is currently in the best shape of his life and is about to make his ONE debut.
As hard as life can be for a professional boxer, he says his biggest challenge is fatherhood:
“My expectations of being a father are still a challenge to this day. I have to make sure I’m a good life partner for my fiancée. I want to be a great husband and not make the same mistakes I made in my first marriage. I know I’m a great person. I know I’m a good person in my community, with our youth program and things like that. I just always make sure my kids are well taken care of, and that’s the daily struggle I face almost every day – making sure I’m the best father I can be.”
Ready for performance in ONE
For “The Steel City Kid,” joining the ONE Championship and performing on its huge global platform is a dream come true.
He remembers the flood of emotions he felt when he signed with the largest combat sports organization in the world.
Cornejo said:
“I was speechless. I was literally at a loss for words. Excited. Nervous. Scared. You know, happy. And just everything that I put into it, my blood, sweat and tears. Literally blood, sweat and tears. To finally get noticed, I never thought ONE person would, but man, I’m blessed.”
When Cornejo faces “The Phenom” at ONE 168, he will be supported by a loud Colorado crowd eager to see their local hero win big.
He is well aware of the high expectations placed on him, but he accepts the pressure and is confident that he will deliver a strong performance at the crucial moment:
“I’m the first fighter from Pueblo to be signed to a major organization like ONE. There’s a lot riding on me. There’s a lot of eyes on me already, not just my kids. I’ve got the kids excited at our gym. Their parents have already bought tickets to the fight. So there’s a lot of eyes on me and one thing I can say for sure is I perform under pressure. I perform well under pressure and I’m used to being in the spotlight, so I’m just excited.”
