3. Don’t lose faith in Lee
I have long put my faith in Lee as someone who has an extremely bright future in the sport, and in comparison to the career of most UFC fighters, he has already gone above and beyond. It always feels like he can be more, but perhaps the loss to Oliveira is where some begin to lose faith.
It wasn’t a great week for Lee. He missed weight by 2.5 pounds, then for the most part found himself on the wrong end of Oliveira’s assault in the octagon. Lee definitely had some shining moments in the fight, but as things progressed with Oliveira, it seemed his spirit had faded, and he was ultimately finished.
This has unfortunately been a somewhat common thread in Lee’s losses. In one instance he looks like a world beater, but then a shift in momentum occurs and he can’t recover. Does that mean it’s time to write him off, though? Absolutely not.
Despite an abundance of big fights and experience, Lee is still just 27. A strong argument can be made he hasn’t even hit his prime. Between his talent and his team, Lee seems to have a winning formula. He was unsurprisingly down after the bout, hinting that he could have an extended layoff before returning to the octagon.
Some of Lee’s post-fight comments were concerning, but he’d just experienced a difficult moment. If he can get his head right, there’s good reason to not abandon hope on Lee.
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