Gregor Gillespie says KO loss to Kevin Lee was “easier to accept” than decision

UFC lightweight Gregor Gillespie says that his knockout defeat to Kevin Lee was easier to accept than if he’d have lost via decision.

Gillespie is set to get back into the Octagon this weekend at UFC Vegas 22 when he takes on fellow rising contender Brad Riddell. When he does, it’ll be the first time since UFC 244 that he’s fought, a card that took place in November 2019.

On that night, Gillespie was knocked out by the aforementioned Lee with a vicious head kick that severely set him back on his climb up through the 155-pound rankings.

Now, however, during a pre-fight media interview, Gillespie has made an interesting admission about the nature of his defeat.

Gregor talks about his knockout loss and how it was easy to get over.
He also gives props to Kevin.#UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/5CbZCXMOq1

— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) March 17, 2021

“It’s been behind me. A few weeks following that loss it was behind me,” said Gillespie.

“And I want to say this, too, the way I lost was easier to accept for me. And people may be like, what is he talking about? But that was easier for me to accept than getting beat up for three rounds, or getting taken down and held down.” Gillespie added. “Or, you know, like if I had been drug through the mud and then lost a bad decision that would have hurt me way more.”

“I got hit by a really nice punch followed by a really clean kick. And props to Kevin Lee on that, it was a beautiful combo. And I don’t know if you could do it better than that. It wasn’t lucky, it wasn’t ‘I got caught,’ it was perfectly executed and the credit is to him on that. It wasn’t like, ‘Man I had an off night.’ No, it was really solid on his end,” he concluded.

Quotes courtesy of MMA Mania

Do you think Gregor Gillespie will be able to bounce back with a win over Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 22 this weekend?