UFC lightweight Kevin Lee missed weight for the 2nd time in his UFC career for his main event bout against Charles Oliveira at last weekend’s UFC Brasilia.
Lee faced Charles Oliveira in the main event at last weekend’s UFC Brasilia event. He tipped the scales at 158.5lbs, forcing the lightweight bout to be moved to catchweight.
Despite entering the bout as the heavier man, Lee eventually succumbed to a perfectly applied guillotine choke from Oliveira in the 3rd round. With his latest loss, Lee moves to being just 2-4 in his last 6 Octagon outings.
Former UFC middleweight and light-heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen gave his thoughts on Lee’s performance and what the future might hold for the 27-year old.
In a recent episode of his podcast, Sonnen said that he believes Lee should take some time off and eventually move up to welterweight:
“He is one of these guys that sits right in between,” Sonnen said of Kevin Lee’s weight class situation. “155’s just a little bit too much to pull. 170 is just a little bit bigger than he’s comfortable with. If you’ll remember when the phenomenon was out of the discussion of, ‘Dana please create a 165 [division],’ you’ll remember when that was out. But there was a lot of guys saying, ‘yeah, as a matter of fact, I’ll sign up for that class right now.’ Kevin was one of those guys. And the only reason I bring that story up is just to point out for you, he just sits right in between. So it’s tough but I do think that decision has to be made.” Sonnen said.
He also outlined recent changes in Lee’s training and life that may have impacted his recent performances, suggesting that leaving the lightweight division might be the best move for Lee:
“If he’s gonna step back just for a minute, and I’m saying it’s gonna take just a minute to be the appropriate size for 170,” Sonnen continued when discussing Kevin Lee’s future. “It sounds like we’re saying the same thing. And I do think particularly with the last couple of years that Kevin has had, the loss of his coach, the moving of gyms, which by the way is out of the country. Unfamiliar surroundings, everything’s going great. I mean Kevin is really fighting at a very good level right now but 155 pounds is the most stacked division in the sport. It’s also the most complicated division in the sport.”
Kevin Lee briefly moved up to welterweight back in May of 2019. He fought Rafael dos Anjos in he debut, losing to the Brazilian via submission. Dos Anjos was able to sink in an arm-triangle choke on Lee in the 4th-round, forcing the “Motown Phenom” to tap.
Following his failed short-stint at welterweight, Lee returned to the lightweight division, where scored one of the most devastating knockouts in the divisions history. He landed a perfectly timed head kick on his opponent in Gregor Gillespie, completely putting his lights out in the very 1st-round.
Despite missing weight on multiple occasions, Lee has stated that he plans to remain at lightweight, calling the division his “home”.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 18th March, 2020.
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