Kevin Lee may be moving up to the welterweight division.
Last night (Oct. 7), Lee took on Tony Ferguson for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title. The bout served as the main event of UFC 216. Lee ended up being submitted in the third round.
Lee had issues making weight for the fight and even had a staph infection overnight. Speaking to the media, “The Motown Phenom” said the weight cut was draining (via Bloody Elbow):
“I feel like the (struggle to make weight) was a huge factor. The staph infection really didn’t help. I’ve been fighting it for over a week now, and it didn’t make the weight cut easier.”
He went on to say that the move up to welterweight is a possibility.
“I’m sitting around here about 185 lbs, a little too big for the weight class now. I’ve been fighting at this weight class since I started MMA at 17, so it’s about time for me to go up, get stronger and bigger. The weight cut, was what it was. I wasn’t going to let down the whole show, let down everybody. I was going to make weight, even if I had to cut my foot off or something. It damn near killed me, but I had to do what I had to do. I got job to do. I’m a professional. I would come out here no matter how bad it hurts. I felt like I put my best performance on tonight, but by the third round it was just too much for me.”
