Lee submits Shevchenko at preliminary card UFC 262

Hometown UFC fighter Andrea Lee jumped back on the winning path May 15, after she submitted Antonina Shevchenko on the preliminary card of UFC 262 with an armbar from the triangle-choke position.

Lee (12-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) snapped a threefight losing skid with the victory and hoped to have at least two more fights lined up before the end of the year.

Lee has had to overcome some personal obstacles in her life which included her training with a whole new set of folks in her corner.

“I have been training at Synergy Martial Arts Academy in Bossier with my boyfriend Tony Kelley and then I’ll travel out to California and train with Jim West of MMA Gold,” Lee said. “I also train at Pound 4 Pound Fitness in Colorado with owner and Coach Justin Houghton.”

“I’ve surrounded myself with the right people and have a great support system which includes my beautiful daughter,” Lee added. “I’m now focusing on good things and trying to be the best I can be. I don’t like to play the victim and never will so I don’t dwell on things in the past. I look ahead and try to get better day-by-day.”

Lee’s rise through MMA and all the awards she won during that time was off the charts and she’s glad to be moving in that direction again.

“Going through what I’ve been through I felt like I was stuck and not moving forward, but the people in my corner have helped me out of that rut and I feel like I’m evolving and getting better,” Lee remarked. “I feel like I did when I was doing very well in my MMA days. Strength and conditioning have helped a lot and I’ve trained with more explosiveness.”

Lee had a fight lined up in December but it was canceled due to her breaking her nose during training.

That set her back and in all it had been eight months since she last fought in the cage.

“I’m a fighter and that’s my job,” Lee said. “I feel lost when I don’t have something to look for and it felt great to get back in the cage and fight in front of fans.”

When asked what she had worked on for the fight Lee replied, “Everything. I worked on my jui jitsu but focused more on striking and grappling. As a fighter you must study what your opponent’s strengths are and try to fight fire with fire. Antonina is very good at both striking and grappling.”

When asked what was running through her mind as she stepped into the cage Lee said, “I kept telling myself I was going to win and that I’m better at her in every facet of the match. I kept myself going with positivity. I wanted to be the aggressor and start first and strike fast. I felt I achieved that.”

“You have to go in believing you’re better than your opponent so no doubt pops up,” Lee added. “You have to stay strong mentally or it could be a different outcome than you want.”

Lee is happy to get back on the winning track and hopes to carry on a winning streak as she gets back to being her.

“The win was awesome,” Lee said. “The losses I encountered during the losing streak were close and I started to doubt myself, but knew I had to fight those feelings of doubt and get back to being me. With the new team, outlook and direction I’ve regained my focus and feel like I’m evolving back to being me again.”