Lee: I’ll whoop Barboza worse than Khabib did, then fight for title
Kevin Lee has laid out his plans for his upcoming fight against Edson Barboza, and what happens after if he wins.
UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee is riding on a confidence high ahead of his upcoming fight against number-four ranked Edson Barboza at UFC Atlantic City. He is already foreseeing a dominant victory for himself, then after which, a fight against the current champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I want that Khabib fight. I’ve been calling for it for a long time,” Lee said in a recent media scrum (transcript via MMAjunkie). “I feel like I’m going to get a better version of Edson Barboza that fought Khabib a couple months ago. I’m going to whoop this boy even worse then Khabib did, and then from there we can make a fight happen.”
Like many others particularly in the 155-pound division, Lee was an interested spectator when Khabib fought Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 two weeks ago. Based on what he saw, “The Motown Phenom” feels he can stand a chance against “The Eagle.”
“He was trying the same takedown over and over again,” Lee said of Khabib’s UFC 223 performance. “The man don’t have a lot of variety in his game. He’s the same as who beat (Rafael) dos Anjos a few years ago. He’s that exact same fighter. I think once you stop evolving in this game then guys like me are going to catch up to you.”
“Once I get my hands on him that’s really going to show,” he continued. “There was a little bit of frustration watching that fight because I wanted to be the one to expose those holes and I want to be the one to give him that one on his record. But as soon as that fight’s over I got back on what I got to do and that’s to go out there and whooping on Edson.”
UFC Atlantic City will take place this Saturday, April 21st, at the Boardwalk Hall. It will be co-headlined by a featherweight rematch between Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson.