Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC
Kevin Lee has no intention of moving back up to welterweight despite missing weight for UFC Fight Night 170.
Kevin Lee has struggled to make weight his entire career, which is why ‘The Motown Phenom’ decided to move up to welterweight in 2019.
That move didn’t quite work out, however, as a fourth-round submission loss to Rafael dos Anjos prompted the 27-year-old to move back down to lightweight, where he returned to top form with a head kick knockout of Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244.
Lee is now scheduled to meet Brazilian MMA veteran Charles Oliveira in the UFC Fight Night 170 main event event — but there’s a catch: Lee will give up 20% of his purse due to him missing weight.
Despite failing to make it to the stage at Friday’s weigh-ins, Lee, who is reported to have weighed 158.5 lbs. backstage, will not be moving back up to welterweight anytime soon.
Lee told Combate’s Raphael Marinho on Friday that the UFC lightweight division will always be his home.
Kevin Lee says he won’t go back up to welterweight. “Lightweight is my home,” he told @raphamarinho. https://t.co/AU5Qasv3K3
— Fernanda Prates (@NandaPrates_) March 13, 2020
“Kevin Lee says he won’t go back up to welterweight. ‘Lightweight is my home,’” Lee said, per The Athletic MMA’s Fernanda Prates.
UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira will take place tomorrow, March 14 at Ginásio Nilson Nelson in Brasília, Brazil.