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Kevin Lee feels he has the wrestling prowess to pose a threat against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Through 28 opponents (12 in the UFC), undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has yet to face a challenger who can deal him his first loss. Kevin Lee, however, believes he’d be able to pull it off.
For “The Motown Phenom”, it all comes down to using offensive wrestling when fighting “The Eagle,” which he sees no one doing.
“When you’re going against somebody and you don’t have that wrestling background that he has, it could be that guys are just afraid to engage in the wrestling,” Lee told MMA Junkie in a recent phone interview. “I think it’s going to take somebody who’s not afraid, and that’s me.
“I think I’m going to be somebody who’s unafraid to engage in the wrestling,” he continued. “I’ll even go offensive. Nobody has even threatened to take Khabib down, so once you factor all that in, it changes the whole game.”
After a brief stint at welterweight, Lee decided to drop back down to 155 pounds. According to him, one of the biggest motivating factors is a possible fight against Khabib.
“That’s a big factor in me going back down, is that fight with Khabib,” he said. “It’s something that’s been on my mind for years now. I like a big challenge – like, the biggest challenge possible. I’m not Superman.
“It’s not even saying I’m going to go out there and defeat the world. But the biggest challenge, that’s the one that kind of gets me up. That’s what separates me from a lot of these dudes.”
Lee’s return to lightweight takes place at UFC 244 on November 2nd against the undefeated Gregor Gillespie.