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Kevin Lee is seemingly still hopeful of securing a rematch against Charles Oliveira down the line. His first fight against Oliveira, who later won the UFC lightweight title, took place at UFC Fight Night 170 in March 2020. 'The Motown Phenom' lost the fight via third-round submission.
In an appearance on The Schmozone Podcast, Kevin Lee opened up on multiple topics. Among these topics was Oliveira’s win over ‘The Motown Phenom.’ Lee addressed the loss and stated:
“After me, he [Charles Oliveira] fought Tony [Ferguson]. I knew he was gonna smash Tony, too. His level is just way too above on the ground. And then, yeah, [Oliveira] then fought for the vacant [UFC lightweight] title.” Recalling his own fight against Charles Oliveira, Lee said, “Yeah, he’s a; there’s a lot of things surrounding that fight – I want that fight back. But we’ll see. We’ll make that happen in the future at some point. I gotta prove I’m the best at ’65 first. And then, at some point, maybe we’ll make that fight.”
When asked what he’d done wrong for his first fight against 'Do Bronx', Kevin Lee stated:
“Took more time for sure. After I fought [Gregor] Gillespie, I needed some time off. I needed some time to let it sink in. And instead, I just rode the wave. And I was talked into riding the wave and going into the next fight.”
Kevin Lee explained that his first-round KO win over Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 in November 2019 came when he’d first started training at the Tristar Gym under widely revered coach Firas Zahabi.
The 29-year-old indicated that he learned a lot from Zahabi but shouldn’t have rushed into fighting Oliveira in March 2020.
Watch Kevin Lee discuss a Charles Oliveira rematch and more in the video below:
Kevin Lee on his Eagle FC deal being better than his UFC deal
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Kevin Lee shed light upon joining Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion. Lee said:
“Pretty much everything about it is better than my UFC deal. Pretty much everything. I mean, the only difference is that there’s no PI [Performance Institute]. What the f*** does that mean to me, you know?”
Kevin Lee competed at lightweight [155 pounds] and welterweight [170 pounds] in the UFC. He’s currently on a two-fight losing streak, with his last octagon appearance coming in August this year against Daniel Rodriguez.
He was released from the UFC in November. Earlier this month, Lee confirmed that he’d signed with Eagle FC.
Lee plans to compete in Eagle FC’s new light welterweight [165 pounds] division. His first opponent is expected to be UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez, in a bout slated for March 2022.
