UFC fighter reveals conversion to Islam influenced major career decision and future in the UFC

Former UFC fighter Kevin Lee recently signed with Ali Abdelaziz and cut ties with his former management agency CAA. 'The Motown Phenom' has now revealed that his management switch was partially influenced by his conversion to Islam a few months prior.

Lee's conversion to Islam was revealed in August of last year, but he had already been practicing the Muslim faith for three months prior to that.

The 30-year-old, who now competes in Khabib Nurmagomedov's Eagle FC, claims to have bonded well with Muslims after close interactions with them. 'The Motown Phenom' also claimed that the move was blessed by his former manager Marquel Martin, who he is still in touch with. Lee recently told ESPN's Brett Okamoto:

"I've accepted Islam. I've converted over to Islam and really accepted my place in life as a Muslim. And just there alone, kind of brought me into the brotherhood of...speaking with more Muslims and me forming like more of a bond with these people and Ali is somebody I have known for years. We trained together, we got deep respect for each other and he's got a lot of relationships in MMA. So the partnership just worked out and I got Marquel's blessings to move over."

Watch Kevin Lee's comments below:

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What else influenced former UFC fighter Kevin Lee's change in management?

Kevin Lee had previously claimed that things had gotten a little too "Hollywood" at his former management firm, CAA. Lee's former manager Marquel Martin also left the firm to start his own Web3-focused company.

'The Motown Phenom' has now revealed that CAA shut down their entire MMA division as they wanted to focus primarily on Hollywood. Lee told ESPN:

"So CAA basically dissolved their MMA promotion. They dissolved all of their fighters, not just me and Marquel. But pretty much everybody got cut from this big Hollywood agency. They decided they didn't want nothing to do with MMA anymore."

Kevin Lee initially showed loyalty by sticking with Marquel Martin when he left CAA. However, the former UFC lightweight believed he could grow more with an MMA-focused team like Abdelaziz's and sought Martin's blessings before making the move.