Tag: Kevin Lee

Global Fight League announces launch, roster includes giant list of former UFC fighters

GFL has arrived – and it’s bringing fairly massive names from UFC yesteryears with it.

A new player has entered the MMA landscape, and it has arrived with some big names.

Wednesday, Global Fight League (GFL) announced its official launch will come in the opening weeks of 2025. The GFL concept differs from that of UFC and PFL.

While it has a league format and playoffs, it is also team-based and has a draft. There will be six franchises (names and cities to follow). The draft is scheduled for Jan. 24, with an inaugural event to follow in April.

Who’s fighting?

Co-founder Darren Owen revealed on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Wednesday that the promotion has over 300 fighters under contract. Not all fighters will be drafted.

Of the 92 fighters posted to the promotion’s official website, 45 of them are former UFC fighters. Names include Tyron Woodley, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Gegard Mousasi, Wanderlei Silva, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Kevin Lee, Fabricio Werdum, and Junior Dos Santos among others.

Scroll below to see the released names:

  • [autotag]Marcel Adur[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Omar Arteaga[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Stuart Austin[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Renan Barao[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Deberson Batista[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raimundo Batista[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Stephen Beaumont[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alan Belcher[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Claudeci Brito[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Will Brooks[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Yan Cabral[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexsandro Cangaty[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Rafael Carvalho[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexa Conners[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kyle Daukaus[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ayton de Paepe[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Patrizio de Souza[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marcelo Dias[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Miao Ding[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Tonya Evinger[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kalindra Faria[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marciano Ferreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chauncey Foxworth[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Glaico Franca[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andre Harrison[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Guto Inocente[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Michael Irizarry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]
  • [autotag]William Lima[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ruan Machado[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lucas Martins[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksandr Maslov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jordan Mein[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Dominick Meriweather[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Frank Mir[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Silvania Monteiro[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Killys Motta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bi Nguyen[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ayinda Octave[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Renan Oliveira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Karolina Owczarz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Oscar Ownsworth[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Denis Palancica[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Rousimar Palharaes[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chiara Penco[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Markus Perez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jefferson Pontes[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Cleiton Silva[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Wanderlei Silva[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Emiliano Sordi[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Julio Spadaccini[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roggers Souza[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Gabriel Souza Galindo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mohamed Tarek Mohey[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diego Teixeira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Oli Thompson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Austin Tweedy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Feruz Usmonov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jozef Wittner[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag]

What does GFL provide athletes that other promotions don’t?

According to Owen, GFL offers fighters a 50-50 split in revenue sharing. Additionally, the promotion provides comprehensive support for training and medical bills, retirement benefits, insurance coverage, and more.

Who is behind GFL and where is the money coming from?

Owen is listed as the co-founder and commissioner for GFL and serves essentially as the public face for the promotion. He served as COO of PFL vs. October 2015 to May 2020 and was the founder and CEO of World Series of Fighting Canada, according to his LinkedIn page.

Also listed on the promotion’s website are Arun Parimi (co-founder and COO), Scott Parker (CMO), and Jeffrey Pollack (senior advisor).

Owen declined to identify the source of the funds behind the operation, but did say it’s a silicon valley investor.

How does the regular season work?

Similarly to PFL, GFL has a point system for regular season fights.

A finish victory notches a fighter’s team four points. A decision win earns three points. A draw earns two points. A decision loss earns one point. If a fighter loses by finish, he or she walks away with zero points.

Video: UFC veteran Kevin Lee returns to win column with quick submission at Lights Out 17

Kevin Lee wants to make another run in the UFC, and picking up a two-minute submission win is a good start on that path.

[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] wants to make it back to the UFC for a third run, and is off to a good start with an impressive showing Saturday.

Lee (19-8) competed in his first fight since leaving the UFC for the second time after a submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov in just 55 seconds at UFC on ESPN 47 last July.

Saturday, Lee took on Bellator veteran Thiago Oliveira (17-12-1) at Lights Out Championship 17, and ended this fight with a tight rear-naked choke submission in just two minutes.

Check out video of the finish below (via X):

The win is Lee’s first since winning a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez at Eagle FC 46 in March 22, which came after Lee’s first run with the UFC.

Lee recently told MMA Junkie his plan is to make it back to the UFC. He was even willing to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series for another shot at the big stage, which would have been a unique scenario for a former UFC interim title challenger.

“The Motown Phenom” already has his next fight scheduled. He will take on Saul Almeida at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA on Nov. 15.

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Kevin Lee confident third UFC run possible: ‘I’ve been feeling like a world champion again’

Could Kevin Lee make it back to the UFC for a third time? The road back begins Saturday.

Thursday morning, [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] sat in an airport with a plastic cup of Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee, awaiting his flight to Detroit.

It was an unfamiliar process, considering how familiar the destination was. Saturday, Lee (19-8) returns to MMA competition for a homecoming fight in Wayne, Mich., at Lights Out Championship 17 on Spectation Sports. It’ll be his first fight near his home city since November 2013.

“It’s only fitting that it ends up back home, back where it all started,” Lee told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I feel like I’m almost restarting my career.”

In a lot of ways, Lee is restarting. He flipped the on-off switch twice over the past two years. In February 2023, Lee made his long-awaited UFC return after a brief departure, and was rendered unconscious in 55 seconds by Rinat Fakhretdinov.

“As I did that jump and tore my knee a little bit, I had kind of checked out of that (Fakhretdinov) fight,” Lee said. “Not many people are going to notice this, but I even turned my back to my opponent and was mouthing to my brother, ‘I just f*cked my knee up bad.’ Honestly, I just stopped the fight right then and there before it happened. I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be in that fight.”

There was soul-searching, yes, but also physical recovery. Lee said he’d dealt with a torn ACL since a March 2022 bout vs. Diego Sanchez and fought through it in the Fakhretdinov fight.

“As much as I’ve dove into that and as challenging as that is, fighting is still in my heart,” Lee said. “I still love this sh*t. I still knew after a few months I was going to do this again. I started training heavy, maybe in February. I started really training. Then, in June, I started really feeling like, ‘OK, this is the old me again.’ Probably in the last two months, I’ve been feeling like a world champion again.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 01: (L-R) Rinat Fakhretdinov of Russia punches Kevin Lee in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on July 01, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Despite having debuted in the UFC a decade ago, Lee is still only 32. He fought for an interim title vs. Tony Ferguson in the UFC 216 main event in October 2017. Despite his name and 11-8 UFC record mainly against tough competition, Lee didn’t get a second fight that stint.

“They didn’t really have much conversation for me,” Lee said. “They pretty much just said, ‘No. All right. You want to come back? Come back. But go somewhere else,’ basically. I even offered to go on Dana White’s Contender Series. Again, I’m not really sure what the problem is. It’s not numbers. It’s not what I’m willing to do for the company. I’m somebody who fought Tony Ferguson when nobody else wanted to fight Tony, when they needed somebody to fight him for the world title, given that Conor McGregor had just fought Floyd Mayweather. It wasn’t looking good for the company. If I didn’t fight Tony Ferguson at that time, you would’ve had DJ (Demetrious Johnson) and (John) Moraga headline it, which was a good fight, but it wouldn’t have sold. We sold almost double with me on the card. I know what I bring to the company.

“I know I’ve had some legendary moments inside the cage. If they don’t see that, then that’s cool. I can show it. I can prove it. If I end up somewhere else at the end of my career, then that’s just what it is. I’m not going to necessarily be hung up on something. I’m not necessarily going to change who I am.”

Could it be his blatant honesty that came back to bite him? Lee’s not sure.

“I did hear that Dana had a problem with me speaking on the Apex for my last fight, like, ‘Why are we still fighting at the Apex?’ But that’s just how I am,” Lee said. “I’m opinionated. If you ask me a question, I’m going to give you an honest answer. I can’t bite my tongue and act like somebody I’m not just to appease anything. I love the UFC. They built me to who I am. It really built my career and I’m happy it’s gotten me that far. But if it’s no more, then it’s no more. That’s cool.”

Regardless of why he’s not on the roster now, Lee thinks good performances could mend all fences. It begins Saturday at LOC 17 as he battles Thiago Oliveira (17-12-1). Lee has also booked a second fight, in Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA for Nov. 15 vs. Saul Almeida (20-14).

A third UFC stint is in his plans, and Lee thinks the road back kicks off with these two fights.

“I’ve been talking with a guy named Eric Thomas, who is a great motivational speaker,” Lee said. “He said winning changes everything. It don’t matter whatever else is going on. Winning changes everything. That’s what we’re going to start this weekend. After this win, after the next win, it changes everything. I think people just want to see me back, too. I think there are some questions revolving (around) my health. There are some questions revolving the knee injuries and all that stuff. I’m happy to put those things behind me and step into the next chapter. … I don’t owe anybody anything. With that, I’m just looking to go out there, have fun, and compete. I’m not really hung up on the results anymore.”

 

Former UFC contender Kevin Lee books bareknuckle MMA debut for Gamebred FC

Ex-UFC contender Kevin Lee now has a second fight on the books in his return to combat sports.

It appears [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]’s return to fighting will be a busy one.

A former UFC lightweight contender and interim title challenger, Lee has booked a second fight for his return as he’s signed on for his bareknuckle MMA debut under the Gamebred FC banner – the fight promotion owned by Jorge Masvidal. Lee is scheduled to take on MMA veteran [autotag]Saul Almeida[/autotag] on Nov. 15 at the Mississippi Coast Colosseum in Biloxi, Miss.

The news was announced by Gamebred FC on Tuesday.

This is Lee’s second booking in as many weeks. Lee is already scheduled for a traditional MMA fight Sept. 28 at Lights Out Championship 17 in Wayne, Mich. He fights [autotag]Thiago Oliveira[/autotag].

Lee, 32, is returning to MMA competition for the first time since a July 2023 loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. The appearance was Lee’s UFC comeback fight. He retired afterward but is now making a comeback to combat sports.

Lee fought 19 times for the UFC from 2014 to 2024. He compiled a record of 11-8 under the promotion. During that UFC run, Lee competed for an interim lightweight title in a pay-per-view headliner at UFC 216 in October 2017, losing to Tony Ferguson. He also picked up several notable wins over the likes of Edson Barboza, Gregor Gillespie, Michael Chiesa, and others during his UFC tenure.

Lee’s Bareknuckle MMA opponent, Almeida, has a professional MMA record of 22-10. He’s fought under the Bellator and WSOF banners, and has shared the cage with many notables such as Calvin Kattar, Rob Font, and Goiti Yamauchi.

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Kevin Lee books first fight since UFC departure, homecoming for Lights Out Championship

The rebuild begins again for former UFC standout Kevin Lee, who has taken a regional fight in Michigan.

[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] is going back to his origins.

The Detroit-born Lee (19-8) will make his MMA return Sept. 28 at Lights Out Championship 17 at Hype Athletics Wayne in Wayne, Mich., promotion officials told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. The event streams on Spectation Sports, which also confirmed the bout to MMA Junkie.

This fight will be the first for Lee in Michigan since 2013.

Lee, 32, will take on [autotag]Thiago Oliveira[/autotag] (17-12-1) in a three-round welterweight bout. It will mark his first competition since a July 2023 loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. The appearance was Lee’s UFC comeback, and he retired after the fight, although he later changed his mind.

It was also recently announced by Lee that he has signed with Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA for a bareknuckle MMA fight Nov. 15 in Biloxi, Miss. An opponent has not yet been announced.

https://www.facebook.com/LightsOutChampionship/posts/pfbid0Jycy56cH8XPv4QGv9Dt6vx9jKY8RrudMfvn12zmLaaURrxRASo5L7sGGJzxXXPgdl

Lee competed 19 times for the UFC from 2014 to 2024. He compiled an 11-8 promotional record and competed for an interim lightweight title in a pay-per-view headliner at UFC 216 in October 2017.

Oliveira, 40, has competed all over the world during his 15-year professional MMA career. The bout will mark his third pro bout in 2024, a year in which he is currently 1-0-1.

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Kevin Lee willing to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series to return to the UFC

Kevin Lee is willing to take drastic measures to return to the UFC.

[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] is willing to take drastic measures to return to the UFC.

Lee (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) re-signed with the UFC in 2023, but wound up retiring after a quick submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. It took him only six months to walk back his decision, and “The Motown Phenom” hopes he can still call the octagon his home.

So much that he even offered to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series – a show for prospects to get an opportunity at a UFC contract.

“My real love is MMA. I want to compete again,” Lee said on the “Anik & Florian” podcast. “And just to show how serious I am, I even told Sean Shelby that I’m willing to go on Dana White’s Contender Series to show how serious I am about competing at a high level. This next fight will be not about money or anything else, but to show that I can compete and my body can hold up against the tension I’m putting it under.”

An appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series would mean a significant downgrade in pay for 32-year-old Lee, who’s a former UFC interim lightweight title challenger who’s headlined five shows for the promotion.

But his offer was turned down.

“He said no, but I was willing to do it,” Lee said. “It’s $5,000 flat – that’s all you get. For $5,000 bucks, we’re losing money. But I’m still willing to do it.”

Lee has lost three of his past five fights, but holds notable UFC wins over the likes of Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa and Gregor Gillespie.

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ADXC 5 to feature Urijah Faber vs. Bibiano Fernandes, Chad Mendes vs. Kevin Lee

The next ADXC event features several former UFC fighters.

The next ADXC event features several former UFC fighters.

ADXC 5 will be headlined by former WEC champion [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag], who takes on [autotag]Bibiano Fernandes[/autotag] in a no-gi match Aug. 2. In the co-main event, multiple-time UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] meets former UFC interim title challenger [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag], promotion officials announced this week.

The event takes place one day before UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, which is headlined by a bantamweight matchup between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8-MLFyyZW2/

Faber and Fernandes competed in MMA before, with Faber defeating Fernandes by doctor’s stoppage TKO at King of the Cage in 2006. Faber is coming off a submission win of Jeff Glover in a combat jiu-jitsu match at his promotion A1 Combat in May.

Fernandes is a former multiple-time defending ONE Championship bantamweight title holder. He is coming off back-to-back losses to John Lineker, and Stephen Loman.

Mendes announced his retirement from the bareknuckle boxing world following his split decision loss to Eddie Alavarez in the co-main event of BKFC 41 in April. Meanwhile, Lee intends on coming out of retirement and returning to MMA after briefly hanging up his gloves in July.

Kevin Lee explains key driving factors for return to MMA after brief retirement

UFC veteran Kevin Lee is motivated to compete again, and putting some more money in his pocket certainly won’t hurt either.

UFC veteran [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] is eager to compete again after hanging up the gloves less than a year ago.

Lee’s last fight in July was a return to the UFC, but it was also his last for the time being. “The Motown Phenom” decided it was time to walk away from the sport after recording his eighth career loss. Now, Lee is itching to return after coming to terms with what he wants from a fighting career going forward.

“Money is a driver. Competition is a driver,” Lee told MMA Junkie Radio. “Those are my two drivers, not necessarily – y’all know me, I’ve never been one to chase the accolades or the fame, or anybody to recognize me as this or that. Honestly, I kind of like not being recognized more than anything. But the money is nice. You got to have money in this world, so money is nice.

“I did an interview maybe a week ago, and the guy asked me, ‘Are you coming back just for the money?’ – or because you need the money, or whatever. Even if that was true, then anybody who’s a real man in this world knows when you’re doing something for the money, that makes you super-duper dangerous. Super dangerous. So, anybody who’s looking to fight me, and say I’m only doing it for the money, well then you better have your f*cking hands up.”

Financial security would be a motivating factor for most people, but during his brief retirement, Lee had time to reflect and answer other questions about himself and what he wants from his fighting career going forward.

Lee is set on returning to 155 pounds after experiments at welterweight and a 165-pound bout under the Eagle FC banner in 2022. He says he’s no longer dreading the sauna sessions, and will do whatever it takes just to make it happen.

Furthermore, this time around, Lee doesn’t appear to be chasing titles, but rather simply the best version of himself.

“I’m really just focused on really achieving my true potential as a person and as a human being,” Lee said. “I think fighting is a great tool to be able to do that. I don’t see anything else out in this world that can really teach me about myself as I have learned through fighting. Sure, I can make money doing other things, but fighting just teaches me too much and it does too much for me that I just want to keep pursuing it and be the best that I can be.

“… In MMA, who hasn’t lost, right? Who’s walking around here undefeated? And if they are walking around here undefeated, they ain’t fought nobody. So, I’m not so much focused on the wins and the losses anymore.”

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How a conversation with his mother convinced Kevin Lee to unretire – and why he’s back at lightweight

Kevin Lee opens up on his decision to come out of retirement and speaks on lessons learned from competing at welterweight.

[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] has opened up on his decision to come out of retirement.

Lee (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) announced plans to come back just six months after hanging up his gloves following a 55-second submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov under the UFC banner in July. The 31-year-old revealed that a conversation with his mother is what prompted his decision to fight again.

“It’s a long time coming,” Lee told Middle Easy. “I’ve probably been thinking about it for the last two months or so. The one that really kind of pushed me over the edge was a conversation that I had with my mom. She said that the smile in my soul is gone. I remember repeating it back to her to to make sure I heard it right. I was like, ‘Man, that’s deep.’

“My takeaway from it was just that I needed to fight again. It had already kind of been, like, in my mind. It had already been something that I keep being driven to. When she said that, I was like, ‘OK, what am I going to do?’ I’m 31 now. If I’m going to make a run, now is the time, and I don’t want to live with no regrets. I really need to see this thing through. I need to see my life through and feel good for myself.”

Lee said he regrets taking the Fakhretdinov fight. He claims he kept re-tearing his left knee throughout camp and ended up having to undergo surgery in September.

“It was a dumb fight,” Lee said. “It was stupid. I knew my knee was torn to shreds the entire time. It was the worst training camp that I ever had. I couldn’t even spar or go hard in the training camp at all. That fight was purely just out of pride and ego of me being cut from the UFC and not on the terms that I would have liked. Then, me kind of getting this opportunity and letting my pride take over and say that I’ll do it. In hindsight, it was a terrible decision.”

After competing in catchweight and welterweight bouts, Lee intends to return at lightweight. It’s the weight class he’s realized the most success in, where he challenged for the interim lightweight title in 2017 and scored a spectacular head-kick knockout of formerly unbeaten Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to cut weight,” Lee said. “If you want to compete, you’re going to have to cut the weight, and that’s what it is for me. I can make the weight. That’s where my most success comes from. That’s what my frame is built for.

“Me trying to pack on the pounds and go to 170, not only is it bad for my joints and bad for my knees, it made me slower and it was an unsuccessful. I’m glad that I did it to know what would happen, but, yeah, I’m kind of happy to to leave that behind me.”

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UFC veteran Kevin Lee announces he’s coming out of retirement

Surprise! UFC veteran Kevin Lee is getting back into mixed martial arts, he announced Wednesday.

UFC veteran [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] is un-retired.

Wednesday, Lee (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) announced in a Tweet that he will fight in MMA again, likely at lightweight. No timeline for the return was given.

“I’m coming out of retirement,” Lee wrote on X. “I’ll fight MMA again. Idk when, where, or who yet but I’m dropping weight and getting into shape now. … I’m gonna get in the best shape of my life that’s my focus right now. It’s been 6 months since I retired and I miss being around the sport.”

It’s unclear if Lee remains on the UFC roster, his contract frozen – or if the promotion severed ties when he notified it of his retirement.

Lee, 31, announced his retirement in July following a 55-second submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. The appearance was his first fight back with the promotion since he was released in November 2021.

Lee has competed professionally in MMA since 2012. He made his UFC debut in 2014 and went 9-2 in his first 11 promotional bouts. In 2017, he headlined UFC 216 when he lost an interim lightweight title bout to Tony Ferguson.

The defeat kicked off a 2-5 stretch in the UFC, prior to his release. Lee defeated Diego Sanchez under the Eagle FC banner in March 2022 before he rejoined the UFC in 2023.

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