Kevin Lee improved his professional record to 15-2 following his second round submission of Francisco Trinaldo at UFC Fight Night 106 at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
While Lee was fighting on the prelims on Saturday night, the 24-year-old is eyeing bigger and better things in the near future: number one ranked lightweight Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. Landing a fight with the Russian would represent a massive jump in caliber in terms of opponents, but “The Motown Phenom” sees the “adversity” he came through in a solid test in Brazil on Saturday night as proof that he can mix it with the division’s best:
“It was a tough first round,” Lee said. “The first punch, I think it landed right in the eye. A little bit of adversity.”
“I knew he was going to hit very hard, and he had the crowd on his side, Lee said. “He had a lot of momentum going into the first. I just knew as soon as I sat on the stool that I was going to have to win the second big and put him to a finish. …
“I showed I can overcome adversity, especially against a tough guy who had never been finished.”
Nurmagomedov was recently forced to pull out of his scheduled fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 209. Lee, far from impressed with the Russian’s record of missing fights, would still be keen to meet the sambo king inside the octagon:
“I’m looking for Khabib. I’ve been calling him out for over a year now,” said Lee. “He’s ducking and dodging everybody. He’s only had three fights in the last three years; I’ve had 10 fights in that time. And I think they’re not going to give him Tony [Ferguson], so why not make it happen? I’ll show him I’m the better wrestler. I’m the overall better fighter, and I’ll slam Khabib on his head.”
