Lee will make his Eagle Fighting Championship debut when he matches wits and fists with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez in the EFC 46 headliner on March 11 at the FLXcast Arena in Miami. Their battle was booked at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Lee has lost four of his past five fights, including two in a row. He last competed at UFC on ESPN 30, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez on Aug. 28. Sanchez, meanwhile, has significant tread on his tires at this late stage of his career. He has not fought since being outpointed by Jake Matthews at UFC 253 on Sept. 26, 2020.
As Lee and Sanchez pore over the remaining details associated with their forthcoming confrontation, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
29: Years of age for Lee, who was born on Sept. 4, 1992 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
8: Lee wins by submission, accounting for 44% of his career total (18). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, two guillotine chokes and one armbar. He holds three other wins by knockout or technical knockout and seven more by decision.
6: First-round finishes on the Lee resume, including one of the sub-minute variety. He submitted Travis Gervais with an armbar a mere 46 seconds into their Canadian Fighting Championship 8 pairing on Sept. 13, 2013.
4: Countries in which Lee has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 13-6 in the United States, 3-0 in Canada, 1-1 in Brazil and 1-0 in Ireland.
.758: Cumulative winning percentage between the six men—Rodriguez, Al Iaquinta (twice), Charles Oliveira, Rafael dos Anjos, Tony Ferguson and Leonardo Santos—who have defeated Lee. They boast a combined record of 135-41-2.
40: Years of age for Sanchez, who was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Dec. 31, 1981.
10: Sanchez victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 33% of his career total (30). His list of victims includes Mickey Gall, Luigi Fioravanti, David Bielkheden, Joe Riggs and Kenny Florian. Sanchez owns six other victories by submission, 13 more by decision and another by disqualification.
78: Professional rounds completed by Sanchez as a mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 22 different occasions and carries a 13-9 record in those bouts.
35: Seconds needed for Sanchez to cut down Travis Beachler with punches at a Pride of Albuquerque event on April 10, 2004. Having occurred nearly 18 years ago, it remains the fastest finish of his 43-fight career.
274: Combined wins between the 13 men—Matthews, Iaquinta, Michael Chiesa, Matt Brown, Joe Lauzon, Ricardo Lamas, Myles Jury, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Ellenberger, John Hathaway, B.J. Penn, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck—who have beaten Sanchez. They sport a cumulative .682 winning percentage (274-123-5).