Kevin Lee feels he was owed a better farewell after how Michael Chiesa’s retirement was treated.
The veteran contender’s final fight was among the biggest storylines at play on this past Saturday night’s UFC Seattle card.
Chiesa submitted Niko Price in round one to bring his career to a memorable close in what marked a double retirement fight inside the Climate Pledge Arena.
The 38-year-old has been widely praised for his retirement performance, but one familiar face from his past went a different route with his reaction to it.
- LATEST NEWS: Israel Adesanya sends defiant message about his decision to keep fighting: ‘Respawn and go again’
Kevin Lee calls out how his last UFC fight was treated after Michael Chiesa’s retirement
Chiesa enjoyed a number of impressive performances during a 14-year career on MMA’s biggest stage, including wins over Beneil Dariush, Diego Sanchez, Jim Miller, and Carlos Condit. But arguably his most prominent rivalry ended in defeat back in 2017, when he headlined UFC Oklahoma against Kevin Lee.
Chiesa and Lee almost brawled at a press conference ahead of their fight after the latter brought up his opponent’s mother. ‘The Motown Phenom’ ultimately got the last laugh by submitting ‘Maverick’ in the first round.
The one-time interim title challenger was unable to kick on from that win, losing six of his next eight fights inside the Octagon. After being released, Lee was choked unconscious in his brief UFC return by Rinat Fakhretdinov three years ago.
After seeing how the promotion sent Chiesa into retirement on March 28, Lee is frustrated that his final UFC fight took place without fans against a highly touted prospect at the Apex.
“I beat Chiesa in his most high profile fight in the first round,” Lee wrote on X.
“He got a hero’s send off in the UFC, fought another retiring fighter in his hometown, mom, wife, everybody there to watch his life story. My last fight in UFC was on the prelims of an Apex card during (COVID-19) against an undefeated up and coming Russian.
“Chiesa tried to fight me in the locker room before the fight, I didn’t say a word. Cold game fam,” he added.
- LATEST NEWS: Maycee Barber releases first statement after Alexa Grasso left her looking ‘dead’ at UFC Seattle
The alleged backstage punch at UFC Vegas 76 in 2023 shows that the hatchet was far from buried between Chiesa and Lee years on from their heated feud.
The 33-year-old Michigan native has gone 1-1 since a one-fight UFC comeback. Lee lost his PFL debut last June, suffering a brutal knockout loss in less than three minutes to Gadzhi Rabadanov, a member of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team.
He is currently without another fight on the calendar.