MIAMI – It wasn’t easy, but Kevin Lee took care of business in his debut at super lightweight.
At Eagle FC 46, Lee (19-7) finally got the chance to fight at 165 pounds. Standing across from him at the FLXcast Arena was Diego Sanchez (30-14), a fellow UFC veteran who was also making his debut with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s promotion. When it was all said and done, it would be Lee who overcame injury to emerge victorious with unanimous scores from the judges.
Sanchez got the action started with a hard, perfectly-placed, outside leg kick. Soon after, the fighters traded hard punches. Lee answered back with a hard kick of his own. Sanchez looked sharp early with punches and landed a few hard kicks to the body.
As the first round progressed, it appeared that the first leg kick may have compromised Lee’s movement. Regardless, Lee found an opportunity to do what he does best by shooting in for a takedown and bringing the fight to the ground.
Sanchez was able to get back to the feet after avoiding submission, but the pair remained clinched against the fence. Lee unleashed a strong flurry of punches in the closing seconds of the round.
The second round started with Sanchez landing another hard kick to the lead leg of Lee before they continued punching exchanges. Lee landed cleanly, appearing to hurt Sanchez. However, Lee dropped to one knee momentarily after another kick landed to the left leg, and Sanchez began targeting it, forcing Lee to switch his stance.
Knowing his movement was compromised, Lee quickly brought the fight back down to the ground, ending up on top and working ground and pound strikes until the round ended.
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
Sanchez looked to damage the leg quickly in the third, but Lee was ready and countered with punches nicely. Blood began to flow from Sanchez’s nose, but he continued to fire quick punches. Despite operating on a damaged leg, Lee was able to control the cage for the majority of the round. With just over a minute remaining, Lee landed a left hand that dropped Sanchez, and followed him to the ground to dish out more ground and pound, but was unable to get the stoppage before the end of the fight.
👀 @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
All three judges turned in scores of 30-27 in favor of Lee.
During his post-fight interview, Lee said he believed his left knee indeed was blown out by the very first strike from Sanchez. With Nurmagomedov looking on cageside, Lee made his case for a title shot in his next fight.
With the win, Lee bounces back into the win column after dropping his two previous UFC outings to Daniel Rodriguez and the current lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
🗣 "I'm the best 165er out here" 🔥@MoTownPhenom calls for a title shot in his next fight!#EagleFC46: Lee vs. Sanchez | LIVE NOW on @EagleOnFLX | Sign up to watch LIVE and FREE at https://t.co/QslxaipV9R pic.twitter.com/9IPhUA0OVd
— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) March 12, 2022
On the other side, The Ultimate Fighter 1 veteran Sanchez walks away with his second consecutive loss by decision. He hopes to finish out the last two fights on his Eagle FC contract before assessing his career.
The full results of Eagle FC include:
- Kevin Lee def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Rizvan Kuniev def. Anthony Hamilton via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:17 – for heavyweight title
- Ray Borg def. Ricky Bandejas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Handesson Ferreira def. Zach Juusola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Raimond Magomedaliev def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ikram Aliskerov def. Nah-shon Burrell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Irwin Rivera def. Firdavs Khasanov via TKO (body kick) – Round 2, 4:48
- 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. Manny Walo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Lee:
Sanchez:
