Welterweight fighter Kevin Lee has announced his retirement on Threads by Meta after a humiliating defeat by Rinat Fakhretdinov earlier this month. This was Lee’s return to UFC after he was released in August 2021. The Motown Phenom’s last MMA appearance before this fight was at Khabib’s Eagle FC against Diego Sanchez which he won by an unanimous decision.
The fighter took to social media app Threads and released a rather small but revealing statement. He wrote, “I’m going to retire from the UFC but I can’t find the right words to use in the video.”
“There’s more to life than fighting.”– added Lee
Kevin Lee has retired from MMA pic.twitter.com/DGwFySEBE6
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) July 11, 2023
Kevin Lee is just 30 and looked like he had a great career ahead after a comeback in the biggest MMA stage. However, losses after losses in his last few fights made a mess of his MMA record. His last fight against Fakhretdinov must have been heart-breaking for him as he was submitted by his opponent in under a minute.
Although, fight fans are still not convinced by this unofficial statement by Lee and are hoping for the fighter to get at it again, the road ahead looks dark for him.
Kevin Lee: MMA record over the years
When he started his career, Kevin Lee looked like a bright prospect for the UFC lightweight title. In his first 3 years with the organization, he gathered 9 wins and 3 losses, which is a pretty good record. He even fought Tony Ferguson in 2017 in UFC 216 for the Lightweight title. His win against Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night in April, 2018 is amongst his most famous victories.
However, constant struggle with weight made him move up to the welterweight division and that is where the downfall started for the 30-year old. Lee’s 3 losses in the Welterweight division did not help his already dipping career.
He was released from the UFC after losing to Daniel Rodriguez in August, 2021. He then joined Eagle FC and won his only fight there to again get a contract by his old promotion.
Things were not right for the fighter on the psychological side as well as he lost his head coach Robert Follis to suicide. This must have shaken him and to deal with knee injuries and weight misses after this incident becomes really tough for any sportsman.
So, in an unfortunate turn of events, it seems like Lee’s career has ended with an MMA record of 19-8 and UFC record of 11-8.