Lee suffers 2nd straight loss to Rodriguez in return from layoff

Kevin Lee's struggles in the Octagon continued Saturday night.

The former UFC interim lightweight title challenger lost to Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Lee, who returned to the cage for the first time since March 2020, has now lost two straight and is 1-4 over his past five outings.

"The Motown Phenom" started well during Saturday's clash, landing clean shots on his feet while also controlling Rodriguez on the ground for about two minutes.

But Lee appeared to tire out as the fight progressed and Rodriguez took over. He rocked the 28-year-old late in the second round, scoring what was the biggest moment of the fight. Rodriguez connected with solid leg kicks throughout the last 10 minutes and was picking his opponent apart at will by the end of the third round.

"D-Rod" is a rising talent in the 170-pound division. Rodriguez has fought three times in 2021, winning each bout. He's 6-1 in the promotion overall.

Lee rose to contention at 155 pounds in 2017, but he's hit a rough patch since suffering a submission loss to Tony Ferguson in an interim title clash that year. He lost to Charles Oliveira in March 2020 - during the first UFC event without a crowd due to COVID-19 restrictions - and his most recent victory came against Gregor Gillespie in November 2019.