Kevin Lee continues to mention Michael Chiesa’s mother in the lead-up to their UFC Oklahoma City meeting this weekend (Sun. June 25, 2017).
Earlier this year, Lee and Chiesa were a part of the UFC’s Summer Kickoff press conference, which got heated after Lee mentioned Chiesa’s mother. “Maverick” leaped across the stage and pounced on “The Motown Phenom,” only to eat a punch from Lee as security step in in between the two.
Lee enters the contest on a four fight win streak, with his last three victories coming by way of finish. Chiesa is on a three fight win streak and has submitted his past two opponents in the second round via rear-naked choke. The pair of proven finishers are sure to put on a heck of a bout come fight night this weekend, but that doesn’t mean Lee won’t throw a few verbal shots before they get into the Octagon.
During a recent media scrum at UFC headquarters to promote the event, Lee claimed that the fight between he and Chiesa could drag into the deep waters of the championship rounds, which will allow him to showcase his skillset (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“He’s tough,” Lee said. “He’s going to stay in there for 25 minutes. I think that’s going to play even more into my game. It’s going to let me really showcase my skills. I think I’m built for five rounds.
“When you get into those championship rounds, skill sets everything apart. It’s no longer how fast, how strong you are, because you’re both tired. It’s going to be the skill, and the skills are going to shine.”
Lee believes that he holds the advantage in every aspect of this fight against The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 (TUF 15) winner, and predicts he’ll break him mentally early in the first round. He then brought up Chiesa’s mother yet again, which sparked their altercation that occurred a few months back:
“I think he understands that I’m just a better fighter,” Lee said. “When it boils down to skill vs. skill, I’m younger, faster, more experienced, stronger. I’ve got all the balls in my court, baby. I think he understands that, and that’s why he gets frustrated. And he’ll get frustrated. After two minutes of the first round, he’ll understand.
“Mentally, he’ll break. He’s going to stay in there for the long run. He’ll go into a defensive shell. He don’t want to get beat up in front of his mama. So he’s going to go into a defensive shell and try not to get knocked out. But he’s going to be in for a long night, baby.”
According to Lee, he and Chiesa couldn’t be any more different. From their current lifestyle choices to the way they present themselves, the No. 11-ranked lightweight feels he needs to step up his fashion game to pick up the slack for the both of them:
“We’re polar opposites in every way,” Lee said. “He’s a country boy from the middle of the railwoods. He drives an old pickup truck. I’m out here in Las Vegas driving a Benz and wearing a couple of grand on me. We clash in every way, shape and style. The man’s still rocking a mullet, for God’s sakes.
“So I’m just trying to get the people – one of us has got to have some style in this game. It’s only two of us. I’ve got to pick up the slack for both of us.”
With the recent death of former MMA fighter and boxer Tim Hague, who passed away after suffering a knockout inside the squared circle, the possibility (however slight it may be) that he could die fighting inside the Octagon has crossed Lee’s mind as of late. “The Motown Phenom” claims to have come to terms with that possibility when he signed on the dotted line to fight Chiesa – who’s family he mentioned yet again:
“I take it very personally because – Tim Hague just died doing this,” Lee said. “It’s serious stuff. It’s not a game, it’s not a joke. I know I’m taking years off my life to do this. I’ve kind of already come to terms with that when I signed that line. Whenever I sign that agreement, I know. It might be a one-in-a-million chance, but if you’re the one, who gives a (expletive)? You’re the one, it’s a 100 percent chance for you. You could die out there. So I take it very seriously. I take every fight very seriously. I take it very personal.
“When you’re coming after me, when you sign that line to fight me, we ain’t friends. I don’t really (expletive) with you, I don’t really know you, I don’t want really to know you. I don’t watch his interviews, I don’t give a damn about him. I’ll say that to him, I’ll say that to his mama, I’ll say that to his grandmama. I’ll say it to anybody.”
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