Kevin Lee is officially making his long discussed return to the UFC welterweight division.
As first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Lee will compete at 170lbs against one of the division’s fastest risers, Philadelphia native, Sean Brady on July 10th, the card headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor III.
Lee last fought at welterweight in May 2019, losing in the fourth round of a bout against Rafael Dos Anjos by submission.
Following that fight, Lee managed to pull out a highlight-reel-worthy knockout of Gregor Gillespie at 155 pounds in November 2019. However, in March 2020, Lee not only lost to now lightweight Champion Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira, but he missed the lightweight limit by over 2.5lbs. As a result, a move back up to welterweight seems like a natural next step for Lee.
In the opposite corner, he faces Brady, 28, who is 14-0 as a professional MMA fighter, and 4-0 since he made his UFC bow in October 2019. Brady has amassed an impressive run of victories over Court McGee, Ismail Naurdiev, Christian Aguilera, and Jake Matthews. The young prospect has impressively risen to No. 13 in the rankings of the welterweight division.
This fight represents a significant test and step up for Brady as he faces a former interim-lightweight challenger in Lee who would be a huge scalp in the young UFC career of Brady.
Likewise, this fight holds important implications for Lee, who is coming off an emphatic submission defeat to Oliveira and a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury. ‘The Motown Phenom’ will be hoping to regain some consistency and momentum, two things that he very much needs right now.
Who do you think will win on July 10? Kevin Lee or Sean Brady?