Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee, 27, of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States was one of the winners at “UFC 244.” It was his ninth victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Featuring 12 mixed martial arts bouts, the UFC held “UFC 244” at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 2, 2019. In the eighth bout of the evening, Lee competed in the lightweight division against Gregor “The Gift” Gillespie, 32, of Long Island, New York.
Dan Miragliotta served as the referee. He put a stop to the lightweight contest after 2 minutes and 47 seconds in the first round when Lee knocked out Gillespie via a head kick.
It was Gillespie’s first ever loss as a professional MMA fighter. It was a redemptive win for Lee, who was coming out of two consecutive losses.
“Coming off two losses, it eats at you some days so it’s been a lot,” Lee said in his post-fight interview. “It’s been a lot to get to this point, years and years just to get to that kick.”
“It feels f***ing good,” Lee continued. “I think that’s the cleanest knockout of my career.”
Aside from the U.S., seven other countries were represented at “UFC 244” namely Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Finland and Suriname. The Performance of the Night was awarded to Lee and Gillespie, who were among the 15 representatives of the U.S.
Winning at “UFC 244” improved the professional MMA record of Lee to 18 wins and 5 losses. On the other hand, Gillespie now has 13 wins and 1 loss.
Competing professionally since 2012, Lee joined the UFC in 2014. The first eight opponents he defeated in the promotion were Jon Tuck, Michel Prazeres, James Moontasri, Efrain Escudero, Magomed Mustafaev, Francisco Trinaldo, Michael Chiesa and Edson Barboza.
In the main event of “UFC 244,” Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, 34, of Miami, Florida, USA and Nate Diaz, 34, of Stockton, California, USA competed in the welterweight division. The former won via technical knockout due to doctor stoppage and earned the BMF belt presented by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In the co-main event, Darren “Gorilla” Till, 26, of Liverpool, Merseyside, England fought Kelvin Gastelum, 28, of Yuma, Arizona, USA in the middleweight division. The English contender won via split decision.
CONAN Daily 