Kevin Lee might struggle to make the 155-pound weight limit, but ‘The Motown Phenom’ has no immediate plans to move up to 170.
Kevin Lee put on a fantastic performance this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 128, beating Edson Barboza from pillar-to-post at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But that performance was somewhat tainted by Lee’s failed weight cut, as The Motown Phenom entered the Octagon one pound over the scheduled 155-pound weight limit.
Lee, 25, also pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion at last year’s UFC 216 weigh-ins, only just managing to hit the scales at 155 at the very last minute.
But, despite Lee’s ongoing struggle to make 155, the surging contender has no immediate plans to move up to 170 and is determined to win the lightweight title.
“It’s some options to be had at 170,” Lee told MMAjunkie after his fifth-round TKO of Barboza. “Right now they (expletive) around with this whole interim title (between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington at UFC 225) and the top of that division is kind of muddy right now. It don’t really seem like there’s too much there right now.”
Lee, who lost in an interim title bout to Tony Ferguson at UFC 216, is more enticed by the possibility of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) adding a 165-pound division to its rankings.
“155 is where I’ve been focusing. So many good fights. The best fighters at 155. I love a challenge. Yeah, 170 is there, maybe for the future, but right now I’ve got to get that gold around me. But (165) would probably entertain me a little bit more.”
Lee, a former NCWA wrestler, would like to see more UFC fighters call for the addition of a 165-pound division. The Las Vegas-based talent believes he would be able to perform optimally somewhere in between 155 and 170.
“I’m going to sit back, I’m going to make some adjustments,” he said. “I’m going to take some time. I would love a 165 weight class. I’ve been calling for it for a long time. I wish more guys would call for it. A ’65 weight class definitely needs to be made. I still feel like that’s where I’ll truly shine, you’ll see the best version of me. But in the meantime I’ll make my adjustments, and we’ll see how this whole thing works.”
Lee is expected to crack the top-five with his dominant performance at UFC Atlantic City and is hoping to avenge his loss to ‘El Cucuy’ in the future.