Kevin Lee retires from MMA
Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee has retired from MMA. The 19-fight UFC veteran announced his decision on Instagram.
“To make a long story short, I’m deciding to retire from MMA and the UFC,” Lee said on Instagram. “It’s been 12 years,12 long years of me being the best fighter I can be, and a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication to trying to be the best fighter in the world. When I look back on it, I had a hell of a career, I fought a lot of tough guys, some of the toughest guys in the world, I always put up a fight, I never backed down, and always challenged myself to do things that I didn’t think I was capable of doing.”
Lee’s decision to retire comes after a first-round submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC Vegas 76. This was Lee’s first fight with the UFC after a one-fight hiatus where he competed at Eagle FC.
Lee finished his UFC career with a promotional record of 11-8. The pinnacle of his career came in 2017 when he fought Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight title. Unfortunately for Lee, Ferguson came out on top in that matchup.
After his loss to Ferguson, Lee failed to get back on track as he moved between weight classes. Lee finished his career bouncing between lightweight and welterweight, he looked for the division that best suited him. Ultimately, neither was a great fit since he was undersized at welterweight, but faced a tough weight cut to make lightweight.
Lee, 30, is retiring at a relatively young age. Still, his MMA career lasted for more than a decade. At the end of the day, injuries ended up costing the talented fighter late in his career.
“The last three years have been rough- especially on my body,” Lee said. “It’s been a lot of injuries, and honestly that’s one of the main factors of me making this decision, I’m in need of another surgery after that last fight.”
In the latter portion of his career, Lee has struggled mightily with injuries. In 2020, he tore his ACL in both knees and was forced to have two surgeries. Additionally, he hurt his knee again in 2022 in his Eagle FC bout against Diego Sanchez.
At one point in time, “The Motown Phenom” was one of the top prospects in the UFC. While he never reached UFC gold, he has some quality wins on his resume, fought for a title, and constantly gave fans entertainment. All in all, Lee accomplished more than most in the sport of MMA.
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