Lightweight Contender Thinks He’ll Fight Conor McGregor This Year

Although title contender Kevin Lee already has his next fight set, he is still name dropping current champ Conor McGregor.

Lee is coming off a loss to Tony Ferguson in an interim title bout at UFC 216. He believes that if he can beat McGregor in a fight later this year, then it is his best chance to secure a rematch with Ferguson.

Lee recently did a media scrum at the UFC 222 pay-per-view event last weekend, and during that scrum, he noted that he thinks Ferguson is the real champion of the lightweight division and not McGregor.

He also thinks that Ferguson can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor in back to back fights.

“That fight happens at the end of the year, me and Conor,” Lee said (transcript courtesy of Bloody Elbow). “I think that’s the fight that everybody’s been looking forward to, and is right there within striking distance.

“Everything I’m setting out is a plan to get back to that [Ferguson] fight. He’s been the real champ, and I don’t really see no confusion about it. You got Conor, that has a belt, but the man is not a champion and I think he even knows that.

If he comes back and when he fights, then…if he beats Tony Ferguson then obviously he’ll have it. But, right now, Tony Ferguson is the real champion; he’s the one I’m getting back to.”

Lee will be taking part in a headlining bout against Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 128, which is set to take place on April 21, 2018, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at while the preliminary card will be split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.