Kevin Lee injury means Sean Brady fight is off UFC 264 card, new date proposed

Kevin Lee’s injury has resulted in his fight against Sean Brady being taken off the UFC 264 fight card slated for July 10th, 2021. The consensus is that Kevin Lee vs. Sean Brady is now likely to take place at UFC 265 on August 7th, 2021.

UFC mainstay Kevin Lee has been out of action since March 2020, as he’d been dealing with knee injury issues. However, Lee was expected to make his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 264 against undefeated prospect Sean Brady. The fight was scheduled to be contested in the welterweight division and would mark Lee’s return from lightweight to welterweight.

According to ESPN MMA, Kevin Lee suffered a rib injury, which is why he’s been coerced to withdraw from the UFC 264 fight against Sean Brady. Lee made the revelation to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi.

Kevin Lee has suffered a rib injury and is out of his UFC 264 fight against Sean Brady, Lee told @marc_raimondi.Lee said he is taking time to heal and targeting UFC 265 on Aug. 7 for the fight to be rebooked. Brady also said on Instagram his team hopes for an August rebooking. pic.twitter.com/wb1aLrKq1P

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 24, 2021

'The Motown Phenom' stated that he’s taking time to heal and that he hopes for his fight against Sean Brady to be rebooked for UFC 265. Both fighters have subsequently taken to social media to confirm that their fight will not be taking place at UFC 264.

Sean Brady stated the following via Instagram:

“Unfortunately I will not be fighting Kevin Lee July 10th from my understanding he has suffered an injury and had to to pull out of the fight. My team is hoping to Rebook the fight for august. Thank you to all my family friends and fans who support me this is just a speed bump on my journey to being champ”

Similarly, Kevin Lee took to his official Instagram account and put forth the following statement:

“Everyone around me has known how hard I’ve worked for this fight and just this last year. I’ve put in so much work it hurts to have to push this fight back but last week I injured my ribs. I apologize to coaches, @Ufc, and @seanbradymma but hopefully we get to do it August 7th in Houston we’ll add some star power #UFC265”

As of this writing, the UFC hasn’t officially confirmed whether the fight will be rescheduled for UFC 265 or another future event.

Kevin Lee aims to make a run at the UFC welterweight title with a win over Sean Brady

Kevin Lee (left); Sean Brady (right)

Kevin Lee’s most recent fight was a third-round submission loss against Charles Oliveira in a catchweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira on March 14th, 2020. The fight was booked to be contested at lightweight, but Lee missed weight, coming in at 158.5 pounds.

Meanwhile, Sean Brady’s last fight was a third-round submission win over Jake Matthews at UFC 259 on March 6th, 2021. In the buildup to his fight against Sean Brady, Kevin Lee consistently maintained that his current goal is to focus on the welterweight division and win the UFC welterweight title.

Brady is currently ranked No. 14 in the UFC welterweight division, whereas Lee is ranked No. 11 in the UFC lightweight division. A win over the undefeated Brady would most definitely help Lee break into the top-15 of the UFC welterweight division.