A lightweight bout between Edson Barboza and Kevin Lee is being targeted for a springtime UFC event.
The UFC is cooking up a very compelling lightweight fight for sometime between April and June.
Ariel Helwani reported on Thursday that Edson Barboza vs. Kevin Lee is close to being finalized. As for which event the fight will take place, that’s still an uncertainty. The options include UFC 224 in Rio (May 12th), UFC 225 in Chicago (June 9th), and UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City (April 21st). If it’s the Fight Night card, it would likely serve as the main event.
Barboza (19-5) was emphatically beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 219, losing a lopsided decision in their December showdown. The defeat snapped his three-fight winning streak, which included decision wins over Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez, as well as a dramatic knee KO of Beneil Dariush.
Lee (16-3) fought for the interim lightweight title at UFC 216, succumbing to a third-round rear-naked choke vs. Tony Ferguson. “The Motown Phenom” had previously racked up five straight wins, with four straight by stoppage. His best win to date was a first-round rear-naked choke of Michael Chiesa last June, and that’s what earned him his interim title shot.
Currently, Barboza is #4 and Lee is #7 in the UFC’s official lightweight rankings. It certainly has potential to be an outstanding clash, should the fight materialize.