Road to the Lightweight Title For Kevin Lee After the Flashy KO Win Over Gregor Gillespie

Jorge Masvidal dominating Nate Diaz and winning the BMF title, Stephen Thompson putting on a show for the fans at MSG against Vicente Luque, Corey Anderson making a statement against Johnny Walker, Darren Till’s emphatic middleweight debut, there were many highs from UFC 244. However, the come back of Kevin Lee from the losses and the way he did it shocked the fans at MSG and all around the world.

After the losses against Al Iaquinta and Rafael Dos Anjos, Kevin Lee’s future was uncertain. He moved up to welterweight for a fresh start but failed. Then he decided to come back to lightweight against a fighter who was undefeated and even considered to be the one who can go toe to toe with Khabib Nurmagomedov when it comes to wrestling. No doubt Gregor Gillespie was a tough fight for Kevin Lee and that’s why a win over him has made him a star in the division.

Lee sits at rank 8 after the win over Gregor Gillespie. He has talked about fighting Islam Makhachev and he has predicted that he would fight the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson by mid-2020. Well, it’s certainly praiseworthy that Kevin Lee is willing to fight Islam Makhachev(ranked 15) who can beat a lot of fighters in the top 15. Although this fight is winnable for Lee it likely won’t take him to a title shot.

The MoTown Phenom needs a couple of wins more to get the title shot again. A fight against Paul Felder or Dan Hooker makes the most sense for Kevin Lee at the moment. Both Dan Hooker and Paul Felder are coming from wins and ranked higher than Lee at the moment. A fight between Kevin Lee and Donald Cerrone will also make a lot of sense, however, it is less compelling that the fight with Hooker and Felder.

It has to be mentioned that Kevin Lee fought Tony Ferguson for the interim title. He was suffering from staph infection and yet he came very close to finish Tony Ferguson before he fatigues in the later rounds. So there can not be any questions surrounding his potential. Especially after training with Firas Zahabi it can be assured that the best year of Kevin Lee is ahead of him.

Kevin Lee vs Justin Gaethje would be a bit more ambitious, but there is no doubt that Gaethje is not going to walk through Lee as he has done against his last three opponents. Overall, there are a few exciting fights for Kevin Lee in the lightweight division. Even if he takes on the Islam Makhachev fight it should be a main event of a big fight card cause Kevin Lee deserves it for sure.