UFC and Eagle FC Fighter Kevin Lee made is in the headlines for making the shock decision of retiring from MMA at just 30 years of age, and has spilled the beans on what motivated him to take the decision.
The last three years have been rough: Kevin Lee
After making a victorious Eagle FC debut in March last year, “The Motown Phenom” returned to the Octagon earlier this month when he faced Rinat Fakhretdinov on the undercard of UFC Vegas 76. The fight ended in the first round as Lee was submitted by Fakhretdinov, and it marked his fifth defeat in the last seven fights.
On Tuesday morning, Lee took to Instagram to announce that he is parting ways with the sport, and in a follow up post, elaborated on why he made the decision to walk away at just 30, stating that the last few years have been very rough.
“Okay, to make a long story short, I’m deciding to retire from MMA and the UFC. It’s been 12 years, 12 long years of me being the best fighter that I can be and a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication for me to try to be the best fighter in the world,” Lee said in the clip. “When I look back on it, I had a hell of a career. I fought a lot of tough guys and some of the toughest guys in the world. I’ve always put up a great fight. I never backed down, and I always challenged myself to do things that I didn’t think I was capable of doing. The last three years have been rough, especially on my body.”
“It’s been a lot of injuries and honestly, that’s one of the main factors of me making this decision. I’m in need of another surgery after that last fight,” he went on. “I’m proud that I went out on my shield, I’m proud that I stood up in there and went out on my own terms. But at this point, I have to think about more than just myself and my skills. I think my skills and the time and energy that I put in this sport, I can put into something else, and God willing, Alhamdulillah and all glory to God, he’s going to lead me down a different path, the right path to where I can use my skills to help people.”
“I think if I dedicate myself and I give just as much hard work to doing something else, the sky is the limit. So again, I hold my head up high. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to accomplish everything that I wanted to. But I’m proud of myself for this career that I’ve had, and I appreciate everybody that has given two f***s about me and everybody who supported me, and even the people that kind of doubted and hated along the way. I appreciate everybody. It’s been a hell of a journey. I’m still young. I’m still capable of doing a lot in this life and that is what I am going to do,” Lee added. [H/T BJPenn.com]
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