Tonight’s Eagle FC 46 event was headlined by a super lightweight bout between former UFC stars Kevin Lee and Diego Sanchez.
The former interim lightweight title challenger, Lee (19-7 MMA), was let go by Dana White and company back in 2021, this after suffering setbacks in four of his final five Octagon appearances. During that rough stretch the ‘MoTown Phenom’ suffered setbacks to Al Iaquinta, Rafael dos Anjos, Charles Oliveira and Daniel Rodriguez respectively.
Meanwhile, Diego Sanchez (30-14 MMA) had last competed at UFC 253 in September of 2020, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Jake Matthews. The former UFC lightweight title challenger had gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall ahead of tonight’s affair.
Tonight’s Eagle FC 46 main event proved to be a much more competitive fight than many fans and pundits were expecting. Diego Sanchez was able to hurt the lead leg of Kevin Lee in the opening round with a calf kick. He also was able to stagger the ‘MoTown Phenom’ with a flurry before the Detroit native turned to his wrestling. Lee would go on to smother Sanchez with his strong wrestling skills and even scored a knockdown in round three. After fifteen minutes of action, he was awarded the unanimous decision win
Official Eagle FC 46 Result: Kevin Lee def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Lee vs. Sancez’ below:
Best of luck to both @MoTownPhenom and @DiegoSanchezUFC tonight! #EagleFC46 #LetsGo
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) March 12, 2022
Kevin Lee vs. Diego Sanchez is about to get started.
Lee is expectedly a huge favourite (-1700)
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 12, 2022
I’m very impressed with 40 yo Diego Sanchez, never give up. Thank you legend for joining @EagleFightClub this is honor for us!!!
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) March 12, 2022
Lee will get the nod, but Diego Sanchez certainly didn't look like a 10-1 underdog.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 12, 2022
Post-fight reactions to Kevin Lee defeating Diego Sanchez:
https://twitter.com/EagleFightClub/status/1502497529161789441
Kevin Lee says that a kick that Diego Sanchez landed in the first round may have blown out his ACL.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/EagleFightClub/status/1502498385533849601
I've said this many times. There's no doubt Diego Sanchez has taken a ton of damage, but he's not nearly as washed as Twitter makes him out to be. You just have to look at the tape.
Whether it's advisable or not to keep fighting, Diego is not an easy fight. #EagleFC46
— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) March 12, 2022
Who would you like to see Kevin Lee fight next following his decision victory over Diego Sanchez at tonight’s Eagle FC 46 event in Miami? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!