kevin Lee vs Edson Barboza | UFC Betting Sites

Surging UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee may be coming off of the biggest victory of his UFC career, but he’s already set his sights on his next opponent.

After brutalizing Edson Barboza en route to a fifth-round TKO stoppage in April, Lee says he wants to welcome Nate Diaz back into the cage as rumors of Diaz’s imminent return have arisen.

With Diaz rumored to be in talks for a comeback fight at UFC 227, Lee says he’s focused on fighting the only man to beat Conor McGregor in the UFC (via MMA Junkie):

“I’m turning my focus to Nate. I think that Nate fight is out there to be had. He’s already run away from me once. Now they’ve got Aug. 4 coming up that he’s looking to get on.”

“I’m going to do a little bit of traveling, see the world a bit myself and kind of expand some more of that life to experience, which is just going to make me a better fighter. Coming back? I don’t know. I think the Khabib fight is the right one to make, but the Nate one is out there to be had. I know Dustin and Alvarez, they’re getting in it again, as they rightfully should. But we’ll how this thing shakes out. I’m going to turn my focus onto Nate.”

Diaz hasn’t fought since losing a decision in his UFC 202 rematch against McGregor back in 2016. Prior to that loss, Diaz submitted “The Notorious” in the second round at UFC 196.

Diaz has been on hiatus from fighting ever since the loss to McGregor, but sources say he’s in talks with the UFC for a return at UFC 227 in August. With every other top ten lightweight booked at the moment, that leaves No. 5-ranked Lee as the best option for the Stockton native.

How do you feel about a Lee vs. Diaz fight? Who would win should Lee get the fight he’s angling for?

The post Kevin Lee Says Nate Diaz Is Running Away From Him appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Heading into his main event bout with Edson Barboza this Saturday, UFC lightweight Kevin Lee pays close attention to his division, and like everyone else, he was thoroughly entertained by last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 29 main event between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

However, unlike most everyone else, Lee says he didn’t see anything ‘championship-level’ out of either man, focusing on Poirier’s post-fight call out of newly-crowned champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (via MMA Fighting):

“I seen it. I know Poirier was calling for a title fight and all this but I don’t know, it just seems like those dudes are in a different category. Can you really look at it and say Poirier’s a championship-level fighter? I just don’t see it. He looked good. He did good versus Gaethje, it was an exciting fight, I think he should go out and look for more exciting fights, but it didn’t really seem like a championship-level fight to me to be honest.”

“Speaking as a fan, what are you really looking for? He’s just going to go out there and get taken down by Khabib, he’s going to fight just like anybody else will fight Khabib or fight some of these top guys. I just don’t see too much from his style except exciting fights. I think him and Eddie (Alvarez), him and Gaethje again, something like that.

“He makes exciting fights, he should go out there and keep doing that, but leave the real fighting and the real championship-level s**t to the other guys.”

Lee, who’s combat base is wrestling, says that Poirier’s striking-based game won’t be enough to keep Nurmagomedov’s take downs at bay.

”The Motown Phenom” will have a chance to get back on track towards the title as he prepares to take on Edson Barboza at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Lee had come up short against Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight belt in October.

The post Kevin Lee: Dustin Poirier Would Just Get Taken Down By Khabib appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.