Former UFC contender Kevin Lee was triumphant in his Eagle FC debut.
Lee defeated fellow UFC veteran Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in the Eagle FC 46 main event Friday night in Miami.
It was also Sanchez's promotional debut. The fight was contested at 165 pounds.
Lee was a massive favorite for the fight, but Sanchez had his moments. Sanchez opened the contest with several heavy leg kicks that seemed to do some damage. Lee said in his postfight interview he believes he suffered a torn ACL or some other significant knee injury.
However, Lee connected with more punches throughout the bout and controlled the pace of the fight with his pressure. His grappling also had a major impact on the scorecards, as he took Sanchez down in the first two rounds and battered him with ground-and-pound. Lee put Sanchez down with a left hand in the third round and then finished the fight in top control.
"The Motown Phenom" snapped a two-fight skid and picked up his first victory since November 2019. This was his first decision win since 2016.
The UFC released Lee in November, three months after he suffered a decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez to drop to 1-4 in his past five Octagon outings. He signed with Eagle FC in December.
Lee, 29, was once one of the most promising prospects in MMA. He reached a UFC interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson in 2017 before the slump that led to his release.
Sanchez, the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 1," stepped into the cage for the first time since September 2020. The UFC also released him last year following a medical dispute. This was Sanchez's first fight since he cut ties with controversial coach Joshua Fabia.
The 40-year-old fell to 1-3 in his last four bouts. His last win came against Michel Pereira via disqualification in February 2020.
