"Of course, Khabib" - Kevin Lee reveals which two fighters would make him interested in a return to the lightweight division

Kevin Lee (left), Charles Oliveira (middle) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (right) [Image credits: @motownphenom and @charlesdobronxs on Instagram]
Kevin Lee (left), Charles Oliveira (middle) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (right) [Image credits: @motownphenom and @charlesdobronxs on Instagram]

UFC fighter Kevin Lee has named Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov as the two fighters who could make 'The Motown Phenom' go down to the lightweight division again.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Lee, who will make his return to the welterweight division on August 28, revealed that he wants a rematch with 'Do Bronx' and is also interested in fighting 'The Eagle' at 155 pounds.

"I'll come back to fight [Charles] Oliveira, possibly. I feel like that's one that we need to run back. I feel like there was a lot of factors in that fight that warrant a rematch, for sure. So, Oliveira would be one that I would come back for, and of course, Khabib [Nurmagomedov]... I would go down if Khabib was to come back and somehow win the title and talk about defending it or something like that, that's always been somebody I'd challenge myself up against. But if Oliveira gets a couple more wins, for sure, I'll come back against him," said Kevin Lee in the interview.

Check out Kevin Lee's full appearance on Submission Radio below:

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Kevin Lee's last fight took place in the lightweight division. 'The Motown Phenom' took on current 155-pound champ Oliveira in a five-round main event last March.

Lee missed weight by 2.5 pounds and ended up losing the fight in the third round via submission.

Kevin Lee discusses the reason for his move up to the welterweight division

Kevin Lee is returning to the 170-pound division and will take on Daniel Rodriguez on August 28. Speaking to Submission Radio, 'The Motown Phenom' listed the reasons that made him switch weight classes.

"A couple of reasons. One was, after I had seen Kamaru Usman in his last fight, I realised that he's definitely the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world...and I'm always going after the biggest challenges...now that you got a serious competitor [in Kamaru Usman], that gave me a little bit of motivation. And it was the weightlifting...the weighlifitng put on the size as muscle and when I compared it with other people in the UFC, I noticed that my numbers were the exact same as a lot of these welterweights. It was just time for me to stop fighting and go ahead and make that move."

Kevin Lee has only had one fight in the welterweight division to date. The 28-year-old made his unsuccessful 170-pound debut in May 2019. Lee lost to UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos via submission in the fourth round.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard