Kevin Lee has been a victim of misfortune for a long time now. From his career-ending fight against Charles Oliveira in 2020 to Dana White’s refusal to bring him back to the UFC, the former fighter has been plagued by setbacks. In his latest sparring session, Kevin Lee was nearly knocked out after taking a hard hook and it has incited some serious reactions from fans.

A video uploaded by Full Send MMA showcases Kevin Lee engaging in a light sparring session with his partner at the Kill Cliff gym. However, as Lee lunged forward to throw a flying knee, his partner countered with a right hook that rattled ‘The Motown Phenom.’ This prompted Robbie Lawler to intervene and check on Lee.

After parting ways with the Dana White-Led promotion, Lee fought under different promotions, however, nothing gave him the stability that he was looking for. Frustrated with the hubbub, Lee in one of his conversations asserted that he would like to compete under Dana White’s contender series to get back to the UFC. However, that looks like it will end up a pipe dream. Why? The UFC head honcho appears uninterested in taking him back and Lee is certainly confused by it.

“For me, money isn’t necessarily the biggest issue. I said I’d take that fight for $5k on Contender Series, and I’ll fight the best contender that they feel they got out there. They weren’t interested in that. Why? I don’t know,” said Lee in his conversation with ‘The Ariel Helwani Show,”

Well, after struggling a bit, the former UFC fighter has been drafted to the New York selection of the GFL Draft on 25 Jan 2025 and he might face Tony Ferguson in the future as the former interim UFC lightweight has also been drafted by the promotion. However, before that, the fighter had to face the wrath of the fans who were a bit unmerciful after the knockout footage.

Kevin Lee’s flying knee attempt ended in knockout as fans rip apart the former fighter

That right hook really dragged the former UFC fighter into deep waters; Lee struggled to walk, prompting Robbie Lawler to step in and assist him. Looking at this a social media user quipped, “Kevin Lee has died.” Was a flying knee necessary in sparring? Kevin Lee might be asking the question to himself. It must be noted that Lee looked like he never actually intended to connect the knee but his sparring partner had some other plans. A social media user added, “What kinda pitiful flying knee attempt was that? Looked like he was playing around and the other guy was serious.”

Furthermore, a fan believes that there’s a backstory to all of this, “That isn’t a regular spar. He threw that with intent. Gotta be a backstory here.” The basics of martial arts is to always defend your face and a fan reminded him, “Always keep you hands up Kevin is at fault.”

Furthermore, another fan rather had a genuine question about the sparing partner,“Lol why do he even punch him if he don’t got head gear like that.” Kevin Lee is the New York inductee of GFL, however, if this keeps on, he might never return to the combat stage ever again. One fan warned, “GFL no longer happening.”

Like it or not, Kevin Lee will most likely be clashing against Tony Ferguson, and their bout could happen this year. Given that, what do you think will go down on the grand stage?