"Keep the hate" - Kevin Lee turns down sparring challenge against 'tearful' Sean Strickland on brother Keith Lee's behalf

It appears as though Kevin Lee and Sean Strickland won't be sparring afterall as the recently retired UFC lightweight turned down the middleweight contender's challenge.

The ongoing beef originated between Strickland and Lee's brother, Keith, led to 'The Motown Phenom' getting involved. The No.6 ranked middlweight then took to Twitter and insinuated that they would be fighting next week.

He wrote:

"There is a small chance that Kevin lee might come to Vegas next week to defend his brothers honor....No rules.. no time limit... No criminal prosecution... I don't normally feel this level of joy... Man I haven't cried in years but it's happening....... thank you keith lee"

Lee responded by declining 'Tarzan's offer to spar with him under those conditions and noted that he had better things to do. He quoted the tweet and mentioned that his brother requested that he not go through with it and directed a message towards the middleweight contender, writing:

"Not gonna make it. Hate to disappoint but I got something else to do. What you said about Dewey is what got me. Keith told me not to, so keep the hate"

It remains to be seen whether 'Tarzan' and both Keith and Kevin Lee will be able to resolve their issues and squash their beef, but it doesn't appear that it will happen anytime soon.

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Sean Strickland not challenging Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship at UFC 293

There has been plenty of speculation as to who will challenge Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship at UFC 293 on September 10.

According to Ariel Helwani, Adesanya and Sean Strickland want to fight but the promotion doesn't appear to be in favor. Helwani tweeted that Dricus du Plessis being unable to compete in time does add pressure on the matchmakers to book an opponent for 'Izzy', writing:

"In short, Adesanya wants to headline....DDP is hurt...Strickland wants in. Adesanya wants it...UFC isn’t so keen on it...Clock is ticking. Game of chicken. Not many options on 5-6 weeks notice."

It will be interesting to see whether the promotion will change their stance as the No.6 ranked middleweight could be the most appealing option, considering he hasn't fought Adesanya before.