Kevin Lee News

Justin Golightly - February 24, 2018

After a wild firestorm created by Conor McGregor revealing that he offered to step in to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, fans were baffled and Edgar’s coach and manager were pissed off to say the least. After refuting McGregor’s claims, Edgar’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz said he requested a new division be created: The 165-pound division. This isn’t the first time the weight class has been talked about. Super lightweight interests more than just the Champ Champ™ supposedly looking for a third title, there’s a whole potential top five who are waiting for it to be formed. When conor called the ufc he asked them create a 165lb belt. He thinks @danawhite was born yesterday. This is fact. Waiting for response Mr. Helwani. #BeefIsReal

Drake Riggs - February 22, 2018

It’s been a rough last couple of months for “the Mo-Town Phenom”. Recent interim title challenger and top 10 lightweight contender, Kevin Lee has suffered two big losses since October. The first being in his shot at interim gold against Tony Ferguson as UFC 216’s headliner, the second being the death of his longtime coach, Robert Follis. But it wasn’t all bad for Lee who has remained positive and used the experiences to grow and learn and has also joined a big-time management group in Creative Artists Agency(CAA).

Jordan Colbert - February 22, 2018

In the main event of the UFC’s Sunday return to Austin, Texas, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone rebounded from a three-fight skid with a first-round TKO victory over Yancy Medeiros, who was riding a three-fight win streak coming into his first ever UFC Main Event contest. Following the bout, Cerrone was relieved to have finally gotten back in the win column and, when asked what was next for the man tied for the most wins in UFC history, he set the record straight. He intends to return to the UFC’s lightweight division for one last run at the title. In particular, Cerrone called out Khabib Nurmagomedov, a fighter he was scheduled to fight against in May of 2015 before Nurmagomedov withdrew due to injury. Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled for a main event bout at UFC 223 against current interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, so that bout is unlikely, but there are many other matchups at lightweight that fans could easily get behind for Donald Cerrone.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2018

When fan favorite lightweight contender Nate Diaz announced his intention to return to the cage, recent interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee was among the first fighters to call him out. When this callout went unanswered, however, Lee formed the opinion that Diaz doesn’t actually want to fight. “I don’t know how folks jumped on the Nate bandwagon so hard, folks just think he is such a fighter, but the man doesn’t want to fight, that’s the bottom line,” Lee said on a recent episode of Cage Side Submissions (h/t Nicole Bosco of FanSided). “If a man doesn’t want to fight, I’m not a bully. I’m not going to keep berating him and going at him. He is in and out of Vegas all the time, I see him in the store here a lot, me and him we will get into a little conversation here and there, but I’m not going to berate a man that doesn’t want to fight. If he doesn’t want to fight ok, we won’t worry about it. He doesn’t want to fight, if he does he damn sure ain’t going to fight someone like me, he’s going to fight somebody like Eddie [Alvarez] who is on his way out.”

Justin Golightly - January 27, 2018

Kevin Lee on Nate Diaz. pic.twitter.com/XkDNnqg4GB — MMA Digest (@themmadigest) January 27, 2018

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2018

In the wake of his submission loss to UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee has been looking for ways to freshen up his game. He’s hoping renowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi can help him with that. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Lee explained that he’ll be doing some work with Zahabi over the coming weeks.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

Having recently come up short in an interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson, “The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee is eager to get back on track and reinsert himself into the title mix. While he was briefly discussed as a possible opponent for former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje, Gaethje has now been targeted for a scrap with Dustin Poirier. Now that this Gaethje-Poirier fight has been scheduled, Lee feels he might end up in a fight with Edson Barboza, who recently lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

On April 7, at UFC 223, interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will battle for a lightweight title. Will it be the interim title currently owned by Ferguson, or the undisputed title currently owned by Conor McGregor? Dana White was incredibly unclear when asked about this at a press conference in Boston, refusing to say whether the UFC will strip McGregor of his undisputed title, but also assuring the winner of this Ferguson-Nurmagomedov fight will be the champion… Whatever the case ‘The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee expects Tony Ferguson to be the man who comes out on top – against Nurmagomedov and McGregor.

Drake Riggs - January 3, 2018

Violence, violence and more violence. If that’s the game then Justin Gaethje is the name! Gaethje was last seen in action when he took on former UFC and Bellator Lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez at UFC 218 in what was a crazy fight to say the least. But that’s nothing new for the man known as “the Highlight”. Gaethje recently spoke about who he might like to fight next and one name that came to mind was that of recent title challenger, Kevin Lee. Today on Sirius XM’s MMA Tonight broadcast, “the MoTown Phenom” responded. .@MoTownPhenom responds to @Justin_Gaethje's callout: "I like easy money. Justin likes to take a lot of damage. I like to give a lot of damage. It seems like a good matchup to me." @MieshaTate @realOCsports pic.twitter.com/5Y1z1DVgdd

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

Even with a loss, Justin Gaethje has had an incredible year. He walked away from his five-time defended WSOF lightweight title to finally sign on with the UFC, much to the rallying cries of fans and the blessing of the violence gods. He put on MMA Fighting’s ‘Fight of the Year’ with Michael Johnson, then had another ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 218. For now, he’s going to let the body and brain rest, but he’s already contemplating who he wants to fight next. Who better than Kevin Lee, the last fighter to lose to interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson? “First time I ever met [Kevin Lee], he was nice. Then he talked sh-t saying I was fan-boying over him. He doesn’t know what respect is. I’ll never show him respect again, that’s for sure. I just like punching loudmouths in the face. I’m sure I’ll get the itch [to fight again] sooner rather than later. I said I wanted to wait around until June, July, but I’m sure I’ll get the itch sooner. It’s too soon [right now], but we’ll see how things play out. I might want to beat up Kevin Lee, that kid over there I want to beat up.” — Justin Gaethje speaking today on The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

There is quite a bit of mystery surrounding the next fight of UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. In the opinion of lightweight contender Kevin Lee, however, McGregor will probably return to the Octagon to battle interim champion Tony Ferguson in the new year. “I think he comes back, he fights Tony,” Lee said on a recent episode of MMA Junkie Radio. “He don’t want to, but I feel like at some point they’re going to force him to. Either that, or something crazy is going to happen there. But at least I think everything that I’ve seen and all the little whispers that I’ve heard, he comes back, he fights Tony.”

Justin Golightly - December 19, 2017

If Justin Gaethje would have managed to get through Eddie Alvarez, no question he would have been pushed toward a title shot. Unfortunately, the former WSOF champion finally met his match after being undefeated for 18 fights. He was proud to go out on shield, but of course he wanted to walk out with the leverage he would have gotten from a huge win. Either way, the warrior that Gaethje is just shrugs and moves on. He’ll set his eyes on a fight with Dustin Poirier or Kevin Lee next. “When you win, you get to pick somebody in front of you, but when you lose; I am still ranked No. 5 in the world, UFC, so coming off a loss now I get to give somebody behind me a chance. So, we will see which one of these loudmouths, Kevin Lee, Dustin Poirier. One of them is going to have to get me on my comeback. So I’m trying for that.”

Tom Taylor - October 17, 2017

On October 7, in the main event of UFC 216, 25-year-old lightweight contender Kevin Lee’s title dreams were put on hold, as he was submitted by Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title fight. Ferguson, meanwhile, immediately turned his focus to undisputed UFC lightweight champion and MMA megastar Conor McGregor. As one of the lightweight division’s top contenders, Lee’s insight on a potential fight between Ferguson and McGregor is particularly interesting. Lee made his pick for this fight on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour:

Justin Golightly - October 12, 2017

After all the animosity between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee in the lead-up to UFC 216, the end result couldn’t be more classy by both opponents. After Ferguson tapped out Lee in a triangle choke, both men embraced and exchanged words. It wasn’t an easy fight for either of them and both men earned each other’s respect. Kevin Lee continued this respect in his post-fight interviews. Lately, he’s opened up and has said Tony Ferguson deserves to fight Conor McGregor. “[Tony Ferguson versus Conor McGregor] should happen, It should. In any other sport or in any other circumstance or situation, that’s the fight to make happen. But, like really, speaking as a fan, as a fan of the sport, I don’t know man, I don’t know if Conor wants those problems. Tony [Ferguson] is a motherf-cker. I said it before the fight, Tony can fight and he can take a helluva shot. I hit him with some big shots that I thought would like faze him or cut him, but the man just wouldn’t quit. He’s got no quit in him.”

Tom Taylor - October 12, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 216, Kevin Lee came up short in a bid to capture the UFC interim lightweight title in a fight with Tony Ferguson. For Lee, however, the real fight began in the days before he stepped into the cage, when he had to shed a monstrous 21 pounds to reach the lightweight division’s 155-pound limit. Initially, Lee actually failed to make 155, tipping the scales about a pound over. Luckily, he was given an extra hour by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and ultimately managed to make championship weight.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

Last Saturday, in the main event of the action-packed UFC 216, Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson stepped into the cage to battle for the interim lightweight title. Though Lee started strong, mounting and very nearly finishing Ferguson in the first-frame, his gas tank seemed to empty as the fight progressed. From there, Ferguson was able up the aggression, wear his foe down, and ultimately, lock up a choke for the win.

Chris Taylor - October 7, 2017

A interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee headlined tonight’s UFC 216 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Kevin Lee comes forward and lands a head kick. Tony shakes it off and circles out. Kevin lands a nice right hand over the top. Ferguson with a low kick. Kevin just misses with another right hand. Tony leaps in and lands a kick to the body. Lee charges forward with a right. He lands another right that knocks Ferguson to the floor. Tony pops back up and cracks Lee coming in. Kevin goes down to one knee and then gets back up. Good start to this one. Lee with a nice left hook. Ferguson comes forward with a front kick. Lee shoots in and scores a takedown. Ferguson tries to sweep but Lee winds up on top. Ferguson utilizing rubber guard. He looks for a should lock but Lee escapes and winds up on top and in full guard. Lee with some ground and pound from the top. Lee moves to north-south position. One minute remains. Lee moves to mount and begins raining down some big shots on Ferguson. Huge elbows and now punches from the mount. Lee is all over him. Round one comes to an end.

Justin Golightly - October 7, 2017

We’re still a wreck from yesterday but Kevin Lee looks on top of the world. A couple of days ago, it was reported that he had to lose 19lbs in 20 hours. It was a long and stressful cut, but he pulled it off yesterday. Last night after the big ceremonial weigh-ins, Kevin Lee joined Megan Olivi to talk about the whole situation. Thankfully, he was sipping on a drink during the interview. “It’s always a tough weight cut. This is my first time in a title fight, so we just mistimed it a little bit. But, I feel like a million bucks now. I got some hydration in me. I’m going to be the bigger, stronger man out there. I always am. And, like I said yesterday, I ain’t no b-tch. It’s always going to be a tough weight cut, but I’m going to get it done. Tony [Ferguson] already know. It’s no more time for talking. Talking is over. I let him have the media yesterday. I let him get out his little scenarios, his little words, whatever he want to say. The time for talking is over.”