The former UFC fighter would return to the promotion for a shot at the undefeated upstart.
Khamzat Chimaev says ‘nobody wants to fight,’ but somebody wants to: former UFC fighter Kevin Lee.
On one of his recent vlogs, Chimaev revealed the UFC had offered four opponents for his return to the Octagon, but none of them have accepted a potential fight with him.
“Nobody wants to fight,” said Chimaev. “F—k these boys. They gave me four different countries, four different opponents. Nobody wants to fight.”
Seeing ‘Borz’ in need of an opponent, Lee has offered his services. The ‘Motown Phenom’ took to Twitter to express interest in re-signing with the UFC and fighting Chimaev, who he wrote is not as scary as he is perceived.
I will fight @KChimaev next. He won’t outwrestle me and I’ve never lost a first round. @ufc
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) December 27, 2022
“I will fight [Khamzat Chimaev] next,” tweeted Lee. “He won’t outwrestle me and I’ve never lost a fight round [UFC].
All I’m saying is I’m willing. Don’t act like everybody scared of the man.
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) December 27, 2022
“All I’m saying is I’m willing. Don’t act like everybody scared of the man.”
This is not the first time Lee has said he was unimpressed with Chimaev. During an appearance on The Schmozone podcast a year ago, he said a fighter like Chimaev is nothing new to him.
“I think he’s just getting a lot of buzz,” said Lee. “People see him beat Li Jingliang and all of a sudden he’s like, the new God or something. I’ve been in the gyms with both these guys, so he’s alright. But he’s alright, you know. He’s not doing nothing that’s like crazy or anything. Honestly, he doesn’t really impress me too much. He’s just aggressive than a motherf—ker.”
Since his arrival in the UFC, Chimaev has rattled off six consecutive wins, with his most notable ones coming against Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland, respectively.
Lee saw his time with the UFC come to an end following a unanimous decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 35. A month after his UFC release, the 30-year-old signed with Eagle Fighting Championship, the promotion owned by UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
For his first fight under the Eagle FC banner, Lee defeated fellow former UFC veteran Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision at Eagle FC 46.