Former interim UFC lightweight title challenger, Kevin Lee maintains that he is “still fighting” in mixed martial arts competition amid his latest injury layoff, dispelling a retirement from combat sports at just 31 years of age.
Lee, a former interim lightweight title challenger in the UFC, made his return to the Octagon back in July of last year at the Apex facility, following a prior one-fight stint in the Khabib Nurmagomedov-backed Eagle FC.
Suffering a devastating 55-second technical submission loss via guillotine choke, Lee was dropped early on the feet by Rinat Fakhretdinov, before he was stopped, sending him for his third loss in four most recent outings.
In his last win, Lee suffered another knee injury setback in a super lightweight matchup against former UFC star, Diego Sanchez, earning a unanimous decision win over The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner.
Kevin Lee maintains he is still planning on fighting
And following his loss to the higly-touted Fakhretdinov, Lee confirmed his retirement from combat sports, however, on social media this week – claiming he is still planning to fight in the future, as he recovers from the latest injury setback which required another trip under the knife.
“There’s some false narratives going around that people think I’m retired,” Kevin Lee said on his official Instagram account. “You never seen me lay my gloves down in the cage. You never seen me take my gloves off. Don’t believe everything you heard on the internet.”
“I’m 31,” Kevin Lee explained. “I just had surgery less than a year ago, I’ve been sitting out from the surgery. But read my lips, I’m still fighting.”
Competing for an interim lightweight title at UFC 216, Lee headlined against Tony Ferguson, dropping a third round triangle choke submission loss to the Oxnard veteran.
Do you think Kevin Lee can make good on a UFC return?