Since it was announced that Kevin Lee will be facing Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244, some have questioned the decision-making of the Lee camp to accept the fight, with Lee coming off back-to-back losses and Gillespie being an undefeated phenom ranked beneath him. And as it turns out, Kevin Lee himself is one of those people.
Kevin Lee is currently ranked #10 in the lightweight rankings, and Gillespie is only one spot below him at #11. The proximity of their ranking positions and Lee’s losing streak may have put the decision out of Lee’s hands, but Lee insists that he was eager to accept the fight, even if it might not necessarily have been the smartest career strategy move (Transcript via Nick Baldwin/Bloody Elbow):
“To be honest with you, this is the dumbest fight I could’ve took,” Lee told theScore. “A guy who’s incredibly tough, he can take a hell of a shot, he can keep coming forward, and he can make a fight really boring, he can make it really frustrating for you. And he’s got a hell of a gas tank, too. So, this is the most dangerous fight I could’ve took. It really don’t make much sense, but I love a challenge, I love doing sh-t like this.”
Kevin Lee’s last victory came against Edson Barboza in a dominant performance in the UFC Fight Night 128 headliner. Since then, he has lost two straight while his opponent, Gillespie, has yet to drop a round in the UFC and now has a spotless 13-0 MMA record. If Kevin Lee is going to return to the win column, he is going to have an uphill battle to get there, and he knows it.
“We know what we’re up against,” Lee said. “We know what type of fight this is. That’s why I’m so focused. That’s why it’s given me a little bit more extra motivation to stay in the gym.
“Against a guy like Gregor, you can’t give up one round, you can’t give up one takedown,” Lee said. “I gotta be on my Ps and Qs the whole time. He gets a takedown, he’s somebody who’s just going to try to hold me down the whole time. And with a three rounder, he’s only gotta do that twice. It makes a fight very, very dangerous.”
Do you believe Kevin Lee made the right choice in accepting a fight against Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244?
