Kevin Lee prevailed over Diego Sanchez in Miami.
Eagle FC’s second United States offering saw ‘The Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee (19-7) overcome a very early injury to his lead leg to otherwise get a shutout win on the scorecards against fellow ex-UFC fighter Diego Sanchez (30-14) in Friday’s main event.
An early kick from Sanchez created some immediate discomfort on Lee’s lead leg that analyst and current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman picked up on during the broadcast. Lee was heavy on that leg and clearly compromised to the point of occasional stance switching. With all of that said, Lee did largely outstrike Sanchez and put him on the backfoot. Lee also got takedowns in the first two rounds, which resulted in brief back control in the opening round and some elbows to end the second frame.
Sanchez continued attacking Lee’s left leg in the final round and he was actually connecting on some quality head shots, but a left hook by Lee sent the 40-year-old down to the canvas. In typical Diego fashion, he survived but otherwise was a beaten man as Lee rode out the rest of the clock on the mat.
It’s Lee’s first win since his 2019 head kick KO over Gregor Gillespie, and his first decision victory since Efrain Escudero way back in 2016. Sanchez has dropped two in a row but for all of the concern over his recent performances, he didn’t fare too badly in his Eagle FC debut and has otherwise not suffered a stoppage loss since Matt Brown in 2017.
Vicious Elbows from @MoTownPhenom at the end of the second!
What are your scorecards going into the final round? #EagleFC46: Lee vs. Sanchez | LIVE NOW on @EagleOnFLX | Sign up to watch LIVE and FREE at https://t.co/QslxaipV9R pic.twitter.com/9sT0dy1evU
— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) March 12, 2022
@MoTownPhenom drops @DiegoSanchezUFC late in the third!#EagleFC46: Lee vs. Sanchez | LIVE NOW on @EagleOnFLX | Sign up to watch LIVE and FREE at https://t.co/QslxaipV9R pic.twitter.com/KfztaJCFMi
— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) March 12, 2022
Sanchez indicated that he wants to complete his Eagle FC contract, which consists of two more fights. Lee meanwhile said he might have blown out his ACL, and that’s a major problem given his knee injuries in 2020. Hopefully it’s not too serious or else the rest of his 2022 may be in jeopardy.
In the Eagle FC 46 co-main event, Rizvan Kuniev remained heavyweight champ with an easy win over UFC veteran Anthony Hamilton, who tapped to a standing guillotine in just 77 seconds.
WOW!
Rizvan Kuniev stops Anthony Hamilton in the first via standing guillotine!#EagleFC46: Lee vs. Sanchez | LIVE NOW on @EagleOnFLX | Sign up to watch LIVE and FREE at https://t.co/QslxaipV9R pic.twitter.com/C3G8F4HhmX
— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) March 12, 2022
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg also took a competitive split decision over ex-Bellator contender Ricky Bandejas, and it was definitely the most entertaining bout of the evening.
“HE HURT HIM”@tazmexufc stuns @rickybandejas late in the third!#EagleFC46: Lee vs. Sanchez | LIVE NOW on @EagleOnFLX | Sign up to watch LIVE and FREE at https://t.co/QslxaipV9R pic.twitter.com/JQq41fV7wO
— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) March 12, 2022
Full results
Kevin Lee def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Rizvan Kuniev def. Anthony Hamilton via submission (standing guillotine) at 1:17 of round 1
Ray Borg def. Ricky Bandejas via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Hendesson Ferreira def. Zach Juusola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Raimond Magomedaliev def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Ikram Aliskerov def. Nah-Shon Burnell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Irwin Rivera def. Firdavs Khasanov via TKO (strikes) at 4:48 of round 2
Archie Colgan def. Dylan Mantello via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tyler Ray def. Thomas Webb via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Sitik Muduev def. Caio Uruguai via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryder Newman def. Emmanuel Walo via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)