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Keith Lee describes his 'fight against death' in YouTube video
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Keith Lee describes his ‘fight against death’ in YouTube video

Keith Lee has broken his silence regarding his physical health and months-long absence from the ring in a YouTube video.

Keith Lee has broken his silence regarding his physical health and months-long absence from the ring in a video posted to his YouTube channel today.

In the video, Lee describes his “fight against death” between January to now, explaining that he contracted COVID in January, causing him to miss the Royal Rumble. After returning in early February to face off against Riddle, Lee “got a call saying there was something off in [his] blood”, which turned out to be due to inflammation in his heart. After several MRIs and some “very scary times”, the Limitless One was barred from any physical activity more strenuous than a light walk. Thankfully, a followup appointment in Pittsburgh showed that the inflammation in his heart had come down.

Lee also had some choice words for people on social media who have speculated it was Lee’s partner Mia Yim’s fault he got COVID:

I contracted COVID; she did not, actually, for like three weeks. And the only reason that she did contract it is because she refused to not be there and take care of me. Unfortunately, that ended up costing her an opportunity in the Royal Rumble. But that was a chance she was willing to take. At the end of the day, I’m grateful to her. It’s unfortunate some of you are ungrateful, because the reality is there’s no telling how things could have gone without her assistance.

You can watch the full video above, and/or read the full transcript below. Here’s to many more years of Keith Lee on our television screens.

All right, so, obviously I’ve been a busy bee, but I said that for those who took the time to care for me that I was gonna make this … information for you guys. Something to share, because I’ve always kinda been that way — open, for the most part. So, the first time I tried to record this, it turned out to be like 13 minutes so we’re gonna try to reduce some of that this time.

So let’s talk about time since January, yeah? Let’s get this knocked out. So, as some of you know, toward the end of January I missed about three weeks on TV. At that time, I had contracted COVID. Before I continue, let me go ahead and point out something because I have seen some disturbing and rude marks toward Mia Yim. Some stating that it was her fault that I was gone, some stating that she gave me COVID, and what have you…let me go ahead and clear that up right now. Were it not for her, I don’t know how things would have gone, to be quite honest.

I contracted COVID; she did not, actually, for like three weeks. And the only reason that she did contract it is because she refused to not be there and take care of me. Unfortunately, that ended up costing her an opportunity in the Royal Rumble. But that was a chance she was willing to take. At the end of the day, I’m grateful to her. It’s unfortunate some of you are ungrateful, because the reality is there’s no telling how things could have gone without her assistance.

After that, I came back for one match against Mr. Riddle, I believe that was February 8th. The next day I got a call saying there was something off in my blood. Some people may have experienced this thing where there’s inflammation in the heart or lungs…for me, it was the heart. That led to very scary times — I was basically forbidden from training or any activity outside of a light walk. So, there was the fear that doing more than that, that there was a chance that I could just up and pass away. So for three or four months, this was kind of the case and I had several MRIs on my heart. By the way, I don’t fit in those machines, it was terrible, and my shoulders really struggled with that. But we had to do what we had to do, right?

So this became a fight against death, so to speak, and it took up until the company sent me to Pittsburgh to get looked at, and it was to the point where I was about to have to undergo genetic testing and these things, because it was thought that there was potential that I could have a heart disease of sorts. Very fortunately, even though it took a long time, we waited that amount of time, for that allowed the inflammation in my heart to eventually go down to normal. So, even though the first MRI was bad and the second one was worse, over time things got better here and there. Eventually, after that visit, I was cleared to try and get back into some sort of shape. [laughs] That’s where the real struggle is.

It took some time. And to be honest, it wasn’t even certain that I was going to show up in Dallas, in terms of on TV. So for the people that cared, I greatly appreciate you. You guys mean a lot more than you know — some of you even more than that. Mr. Casey, you’re one of them for certain.

At the end of the day, I don’t even know what’s next, right? The idea for me is — I fought the battle that mattered the most, and I’m healthy. At the end of the day that’s all I can really ask for. That’s all my family can ask for. And now, we fight to make the most of what we can do in this industry and just move forward. Isn’t that what I always say? Forward march. The grind continues. It’s forever. We fought death. I don’t mind fighting anybody else. So, we move forward, and I guess we continue to show exactly what it means to be limitless. Until then, stay up, people.

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