Ferguson vs. Lee 2 is apparently in the works for the summer.
Kevin Lee says the UFC is pairing him against Tony Ferguson for his first fight since re-signing with the promotion.
This past February, the ‘Motown Phenom’ revealed he would move from lightweight to welterweight, a division in which he felt ‘faster,’ ‘stronger,’ and more explosive. Confident he could ‘outwrestle’ most of the top welterweights, including reigning UFC champion Leon Edwards, Lee set his sights on Colby Covington as a potential opponent.
However, it appears as though the UFC would prefer someone else for Lee, who revealed a rematch with ‘El Cucuy’ could happen at UFC 290, the upcoming pay-per-view event at the end of International Fight Week.
“Right now, it’s looking like we’re going to do Tony,” said Lee in a recent interview with Helen Yee. “Me and Tony Ferguson, a lot of people are calling for that fight. They want to see the rematch. I feel like it’s going to right a whole bunch of wrongs that kind of happened in 2017 and it’s going to put me right back on the right track.
“I feel like that’s the fight that people want to see,” continued Lee. “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 had a great fight the first time. I think people don’t really realize the significance of that fight the first time we had it, so I think it’s only right that we run it back. We’re going to do International Fight Week is what I’m hearing.”
In their first fight, Lee lost to Ferguson via third-round triangle choke for the interim UFC lightweight championship at UFC 216 nearly six years ago. Since then, both men have struggled in their most recent appearances.
After back-to-back second-round TKO wins against Anthony Pettis and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Ferguson fell short in his next five fights. The 39-year-old was recently submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September.
Lee would finish up his first UFC stint going 3-3, losing to Charles Oliveira and Daniel Rodriguez on his way out. The Kill Cliff FC product rebounded with a win against Diego Sanchez in Eagle FC.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)