Kevin Lee revealed the UFC is working on matching him up with Tony Ferguson for International Fight Week.
After fighting in the UFC from 2014-2021, Lee was released by the promotion with an 11-7 record. ‘The Motown Phenom’ didn’t fight against for six months before returning with Eagle FC, defeating Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision.
The Detroit native is now being managed by Ali Abdelaziz, leading to the UFC re-signing him. During an interview with Helen Yee, ‘The Motown Phenom’ had this to say about who and when he’s expected to fight next:
“Right now it’s looking like we gonna do Tony. Me and Tony Ferguson, a lot of people are calling for that fight, they wanna see the rematch. I feel like it’s gonna right a whole bunch of wrongs that kinda happened in 2017, and it’s gonna put me right back on the right track, so I feel like that’s the fight that people wanna see, it’s a great fight for Tony, it’s a great fight for me, I think it’s a great fight for the UFC… We’re gonna do International Fight Week is what I’m hearing.”
Lee and Tony Ferguson fought back in October 2017 for the UFC interim lightweight championship, ending with Ferguson securing a third-round submission in an entertaining fight. Since then, ‘El Cucuy’ won two bouts against Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone before starting an ongoing five-fight losing streak.
‘The Motown Phenom’ believes the time is now to avenge his loss and start his second UFC tenure with a win at International Fight Week.
Watch Helen Yee interview Kevin Lee below:
Kevin Lee details his standing with USADA
When Kevin Lee was released by the UFC, he left the USADA testing pool because some promotions don’t require random drug screenings. As a result, Lee must pass six months of drug tests before fighting in the Octagon again. During the same interview, he explained the situation by saying:
“They wanna kind of run me through USADA for the full six months. I re-entered the pool in January I think, so that puts me till like June. I was trying to do the Conor McGregor thing and just say, ok, let me do two tests, let me do the little things, and let me fight in April or something, but it looks like I’m gonna go through the full six months.”
Before losing five of his last seven UFC fights, Lee was considered a legitimate threat to the undisputed lightweight championship. Although he didn’t live up to those expectations, the 30-year-old believes he’s ready to go on a run after evolving at Kill Cliff FC in South Florida. Only time will tell if he can silence the doubters and take out the elite fighters at 155 pounds.
