Edson Barboza is down to fight Kevin Lee, but only if Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson aren’t booked.
Barboza is coming off a highlight reel knockout over Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 106. He is now on a three-fight winning streak. The Brazilian has been eyeing a rematch with Ferguson or a marquee bout against Nurmagomedov.
In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, Barboza said he wasn’t in awe of Lee’s last victory:
“(Lee) only fought one guy in the top 15. Like Ferguson said, he wasn’t tested that much yet. I’m the No. 4 in the ranking, so I think he should… I don’t think anything, actually. I want to fight someone ahead of me. But if that doesn’t happen I’d fight him, no problem. Honestly? I was not (impressed). He’s ranked, I think No. 11 or something like that. He’s one of the 15 best fighters in the UFC, and everyone is good everywhere at this level, so I wasn’t surprised.”
As far as when he’d like to return, Barboza would fight immediately if given the option to do so.
“I underwent surgery, but I’m fine already, doing physical therapy and slowly coming back to training. God willing, I’ll be back in October, November at most… If I don’t go nuts first [laughs]. If the doctors clears me, I’ll fight next week [laughs]. I want to come back as soon as possible.”
