UFC 244: Dana White on Why Kevin Lee’s KO Win Was so Massive

Kevin Lee demonstrated in jaw-dropping and very violent fashion at UFC 244 that he remains a big threat in the promotion’s lightweight division. But, after the thrilling card, UFC President Dana White explained why this win was so huge for “The Motown Phenom”.

Lee bombs out Gregor Gillespie

Lee faced Gregor Gillespie at the event, and he proceeded to knock the decorated wrestler out with a thumping head kick in round one. Heading into UFC 244, there was talk about whether Lee had made the right decision to fight Gillespie next. After all, the latter had gone undefeated in 13 pro-bouts prior to the event, and Lee was coming off back-to-back losses to Al Iaquinta and Rafael dos Anjos.

White’s comments about Lee’s victory

Well, not only did Lee hand Gillespie his first defeat, he did so via one of the most devastating knockouts we’ve recently seen. The 27-year-old also did so on  one of the biggest cards of the year, as White noted during the post-fight presser (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“So tonight, the president of the United States was here, The Rock, a lot of other people,” White said at the UFC 244 post-fight news conference. “The place is sold out, breaking records as far as ESPN goes, breaking records internationally – the list goes on and on. And when you’re on a platform like you’re on tonight and people that are watching are watching tonight, you want to be Kevin Lee and go out and do what Kevin Lee did.”

“I’m talking about Kevin Lee, you’re all going to be talking about Kevin Lee, and everybody who watched tonight is going to be talking about Kevin Lee,” White said. “So Kevin couldn’t have had (a better night). And he won money tonight – he’s won (a) $50,000 (bonus). It’s good to be Kevin Lee tonight.”

Yup. Pretty hard to argue with anything White said here.

Now it will be interesting to see what comes next for Lee, as not long ago, he was in the title shot mix at 155. The rankings currently have Lee at #10 and Gillespie at #11. So, don’t be surprised if Lee’s tapped to fight someone who’s close to #5, or even in the #5 next.

It will also be interesting to see how Gillespie rebounds from this devastating loss. Hopefully the 32-year-old has a fast and full recovery.