Kevin Lee extremely impressed that Islam Makhachev was able to submit Charles Oliveira: “Exceeded all expectations.”

ByTimothy Wheaton
kevin lee ufc 280 Islam Makhachev

‘The Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee recently discuss the UFC lightweight world title showdown between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.

Kevin Lee spoke with James Lynch and was most impressed with the marketing machine the UFC put together for UFC 280. Lee explained:

“Yeah, I mean, that was a great fight, great fight. I think they set that fight up perfectly, you know. I think having Charles [Oliveira] go to the Middle East to do that fight was a genius move.”

Kevin Lee impressed by Islam Makhachev

When Lee was competing in the UFC, he had a losing fight against Brazil’s Oliveira in 2020, so he understands clearly how skilled Oliveira is. This just adds how impressive Islam Makhachev’s win over the former world champion was. Lee explained:

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“I feel like [Islam Makhachev] exceeded all expectations. You know, he did way better in the grappling than I expected. He looked a whole lot stronger out there. And Charles looked off and looked upset at the result.”

Before the UFC 280 fight went down, Lee struggled to make a pick between the two. He said:

“That was really one of the fights where I didn’t predict it. And I really didn’t put any prediction into my head. Because I knew that that fight could go either way. Those guys are both very, very skilled. Their styles just match up real good. I knew whoever was going to win the grappling was going to win the fight.”

Kevin was an active fighter in the UFC lightweight division from 2014 to 2021. Most recently, he fought in Eagle FC.

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See the full interview below:

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Timothy Wheaton is a combat sports writer who covers MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. He has been an avid follower of these sports since 2005. Tim has even covered the UFC, GLORY, PFL, Bellator, and more, in person at live events.

With Low Kick MMA, Tim has contributed interviews, articles, and podcasts.

Tim also works with a host of other media sites such as Calf Kick Sports, Sportskeeda MMA, Combat Press, Fighters Only, MMA Sucka, Vecht Sport Info, and Beyond Kickboxing. Tim is the authority on kickboxing and an MMA journalist who has covered K-1, PRIDE FC, UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, Bellator, PFL, ONE Championship, and plenty more.

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