Kevin Lee’s long-awaited UFC return lasted 55 seconds Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
In his first promotional appearance in almost two years, Lee (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) was dropped and submitted by Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 47. The technical submission stoppage came by guillotine choke.
A right hand from Fakhretdinov dropped Lee to the canvas in the opening seconds. As Lee tried to get back to his feet, Fakhretdinov grabbed hold of a guillotine and cranked. While Lee’s hands were tied around Fakhretdinov, referee Herb Dean checked his limbs and determined a loss of consciousness. The bout was stopped and Lee was left with his face on the canvas.
Rinat Fakhretdinov puts Kevin Lee to sleep inside the first minute of the fight 😳 #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/pno0kuqSvP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 1, 2023
Fakhretdinov, 31, has emerged as a dark horse in the UFC welterweight division as he extends his winning streak to 17. Other UFC victories include Andreas Michailidis and Bryan Battle.
Lee, 30, rejoined the promotion in February after a one-off appearance for Eagle FC, during which he defeated Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision. Lee suffered a left knee injury
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 47 results include:
- Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Kevin Lee via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:55
- Joanderson Brito def. Westin Wilson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:54
- Karol Rosa def. Yana Santos via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Elves Brener def. Guram Kutateladze via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:17
- Luana Carolina def. Ivana Petrovic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alexandr Romanov def. Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
