Even though he is just 28 years old, Kevin Lee appears to have reached a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career.
“The Motown Phenom” lost for the fourth time in five outings at UFC on ESPN 30, dropping a unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez in his 170-pound debut on Saturday. Earlier in his promotional tenure, Lee looked like a star on the rise as he won nine of his first 11 appearances before falling to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 216 in October 2017. The loss to Rodriguez was Lee’s first bout since March 2020 after undergoing surgery on both of his knees.