Fighter who had 'public' spat with Khabib Nurmagomedov loses UFC comeback within a minute [VIDEO]
Khabib Nurmagomedov once had the most random online spat with a UFC Vegas 76 fighter.
The event, Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov, went down on Saturday, July 1, at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kevin Lee made his UFC return on the prelims of the card after a brief stint at Khabib Nurmagomedov's Eagle FC. His comeback was ruined in a brutal manner as Rinat Fakhretdinov choked him out in under a minute of the fight.
Watch the 55-second knockout below:
Kevin Lee’s UFC return did not go to plan😞
https://t.co/W93nVdKjwQ
Lee got tagged early on on the feet and forced to back up against the cage. Fakhretdinov landed a well-time right hand that landed on the jaw and dropped the Detroit native. The Russian seized the opportunity by latching onto a guillotine choke and holding on till referee Herb Dean stepped in.
What happened between Kevin Lee and Khabib Nurmagomedov?
During his tenure at EFC, Kevin Lee called out owner Khabib Nurmagomedov for a 'public' conversation in a since-deleted tweet.
"@TeamKhabib would you be more comfortable talking publicly?"
It created some confusion among the fans, some even speculating that there may be some professional disagreements between the two.
In an exclusive interview with James Lynch for Middle Easy, Lee clarified the reason behind the tweet:
"Me and Khabib need to talk. We need to have a conversation. We need to really sit down as men and talk. I do feel like he still… He maybe holds a grudge or he’s got something going on against me."
Previously, Lee had called out Khabib Nurmagomedov after the latter's UFC 229 showdown with Conor McGregor. 'The Motown Phenom' said he spotted many 'holes' and 'technical errors' in the Dagestani's game, and he would be willing to expose them in a wrestling match.
"I still see the same holes that he showed me a couple years ago. So you know, there's a lot of technical errors that he makes that I feel like I fill up everytime that I go out there... I'm bigger, stronger and I ain't afraid to wrestle with no man. So, I told him we can go out there and have a full-on wrestling match and then we'll take it from there."
Nurmagomedov reacted to the comments with a short but effective tweet:
Stay humble Kevin lee.
Humble is the key.
Kevin Lee left EFC after just one fight and returned to the UFC for better opportunities.