Kevin Lee announces retirement

UFC welterweight Kevin Lee announced his retirement following a first-round loss in his promotional return at UFC Vegas 76 on July 1.

Lee entered the UFC as a lightweight, and after losing to Al Iaquinta in his UFC debut in February 2014, Lee went on a four-fight winning streak that caught attention before losing to Leonardo Santos in Fall 2015.  Lee regrouped and went on a five-fight run that left him in title contention.  

Lee was lined up to face Tony Ferguson for an interim championship at UFC 216 in October 2017.  He was submitted in the third round.  He never got his career back on track.  He lost four of his next six fights bouncing back and forth from the lightweight in welterweight divisions.  

After picking up a win over Diego Sanchez in boxing in March, Lee made his final octagon walk against Rinat Fakhretdinov.

He officially retired making the announcement via social media.