Keith Lee (food critic)

Not to be confused with Keith Lee, professional wrestler.

Keith Lee
Keith Lee at Essence Festival of Culture 2025
Born	(1996-10-04) October 4, 1996 (age 28) [1] Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Spouse	Ronni Lee
Children	2
Relatives	Kevin Lee (brother)
Martial arts career
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb)
Division	Bantamweight Featherweight
Reach	70+1⁄2 in (179 cm) [2]
Fighting out of	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Team	Xtreme Couture
Years active	2017–present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	13
Wins	8
By knockout	3
By submission	1
By decision	4
Losses	5
By submission	1
By decision	4
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
TikTok information
Page	Keith Lee
Followers	17 million
Likes	829 million
Last updated: May 10, 2025

Keith Lee (born October 4, 1996) is an American social media personality, food critic, and mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career

Lee’s mixed martial arts career turned professional in 2017. He fought under the nickname "Killa". ^[3] Lee made his Bellator debut in 2018 and at his promotional debut he picked up a decision over Shawn Bunch at Bellator 239. ^{[4] [5]} He lost his contract with Bellator in 2021, after which he began pursuing his social media food reviews more heavily, though as of January 2023 he still planned to continue his MMA career in a more limited capacity. ^[6]

Social media career

Keith Lee gained prominence as a Las Vegas based food taster on TikTok. Lee began using TikTok in November 2020, mainly posting cooking videos and family content. ^[5] He began posting restaurant reviews in 2021. Lee's videos follow a consistent formula, where he describes his experience ordering the food and rates each item on a scale from one to ten. ^{[7] [6]}

As of April 2024, he had 16.1 million followers and his food reviews had gained over 721.9 million likes. ^{[8] [9]} Lee says he began making TikToks to help combat his anxiety with public speaking. ^[10]

Lee has traveled to cities such as Atlanta, Houston and New York to review local restaurants, giving preference to Black-owned and family-owned restaurants. ^{[8] [11] [12]} He frequently has family members place takeout orders on his behalf in order to avoid preferential treatment from restaurant owners. ^[13]

In 2024, Lee selected Toronto as the first international stop of his food tour. He praised the cultural food diversity and customer service in the Canadian city. ^[14]

Lee was included on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list under the category Food & Drink because of his TikTok food reviews. ^[9]

Personal life

Lee has three siblings, including his brother, fellow mixed martial artist Kevin Lee. ^{[15] [16] [17]} Lee and his wife Ronni, who has been featured on Lee's TikTok account, have two daughters. ^[18] In March 2025, Lee revealed that he and his wife were expecting their third child. In August 2025, they announced that they would be having a son. ^[19]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

13 matches	8 wins	5 losses
By knockout	3	0
By submission	1	1
By decision	4	4

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	8–5	Jeremiah Labiano	Decision (split)	Urijah Faber's A1 Combat 5	September 3, 2022	3	5:00	Sacramento, California, United States
Loss	7–5	Jornel Lugo	Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)	Bellator 265	August 20, 2021	1	5:00	Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Loss	7–4	Raufeon Stots	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 253	November 19, 2020	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	7–3	Vinicius Zani	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 245	September 11, 2020	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	6–3	Shawn Bunch	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 239	February 21, 2020	3	5:00	Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
Win	5–3	Leonardo Alves Carvalho	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Global Legion FC 13	December 13, 2019	2	2:37	Miramar, Florida, United States
Win	4–3	Chris Johnson	Decision (unanimous)	Final Fight Championship 38	June 20, 2019	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	3–3	Jeremy Pacatiw	Decision (split)	Brave CF 14	August 18, 2018	3	5:00	Tangier, Morocco
Loss	3–2	John Sweeney	Decision (split)	864 Fighting Championship: Fight 3	March 24, 2018	3	5:00	Greenville, South Carolina, United States
Win	3–1	Shawn Mack	TKO (punches)	KnockOut Promotions 59	December 16, 2017	1	4:09	Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Win	2–1	Eric Daigneault	TKO (real etirement)	TKO 40 - Denouement	September 8, 2017	1	5:00	Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, Canada
Win	1–1	Alex Slicer	TKO (elbows and punches)	TKO 39 - Ultimatum	June 16, 2017	2	1:24	Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, Canada
Loss	0–1	Tony Laramie	Decision (unanimous)	TKO 37 - Rivals	January 13, 2017	3	5:00	Montreal, Canada

^[1]

References

1. Sherdog.com. "Keith "Killa" Lee MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
2. "Stats | ESPN". espn.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
3. Pandey, Pranav (May 25, 2023). "Keith Lee MMA record: Was the fighter-turned-TikTok star any good inside the cage?". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
4. "Keith Lee Motivated By Fatherhood Ahead Of Bellator 245". Mma News | Ufc News, Results & Interviews. MMA News. September 8, 2020. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
5. Bandayrel, Rafael (August 24, 2021). "Who is Kevin Lee's brother, Keith Lee?". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
6. Martin, Damon (January 8, 2023). "10 out of 10: How Bellator veteran Keith Lee became one of the most influential food critics in the world". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
7. Placido, Dani Di. "Who Is Keith Lee? The TikTok Foodie's Atlanta Drama, Explained". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
8. Oyeniyi, Doyin (December 7, 2023). "TikTok Food Reviewer Keith Lee Made Houston Go Viral". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
9. "Keith Lee". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
10. Lindner, Emmett (November 1, 2023). "Atlanta's Dining Scene Feels 'the Keith Lee Effect'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
11. Patel, Shafaq (December 4, 2023). "The Keith Lee effect hits Houston". Axios. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
12. Dixon, Kristal; Nobles III, Wilborn P. (October 30, 2023). "Keith Lee's Atlanta reviews spark backlash, debate about restaurant scene". Axios. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
13. McCarthy, Amy; Saxena, Jaya (December 19, 2023). "The Many Causes and Effects of Keith Lee". Eater. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
14. Alberga, Hannah (April 15, 2024). "Celebrity food critic Keith Lee blown away by Toronto visit". CTV News Toronto. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
15. "Keith Lee, Kevin Lee's brother, signs multi-fight Bellator deal, debut set". MMA Junkie. January 21, 2020. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
16. "Inspired by brother Kevin's success, Bellator 245's Keith Lee promises to make his own name". MMA Junkie. September 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
17. "Off Guard: Keith Lee eager to fight, says training with Firas Zahabi made a huge impact". MMA Junkie. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
18. Zayna Allen (June 2, 2023). "Meet Ronni Lee, the Woman Behind TikTok Food Critic, Keith Lee". Yahoo. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
19. Charna Flam (March 24, 2025). "Keith Lee Casually Announces His Wife Ronni's Pregnancy While Sharing Her Unusual Craving". People. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.