With UFC Fight Night 128 firmly in our rear-view mirrors, after our body clocks try to readjust to that of a normal British human being, what could be next for the victorious Kevin Lee?
Lee outclassed Edson Barboza for north of twenty minutes in the main event, despite Barboza almost finishing the fight with his trademark spinning head kick, which sent Lee’s legs into some sort of salsa dancing demonstration.
“The Motown Phenom” outlanded a man known for his striking by almost four-to-one, with his dominant wrestling and ground-and-pound on display for all to see, again demonstrating his credentials as a top contender at 155-pounds.
The only blemish on the week for Lee was his failure to make the 156-pound limit for a lightweight non-title fight, tipping the scales at 157-pounds. We can’t cause too much uproar over this, with it being the first time in his UFC career that he has missed weight, but it should keep eyes on his weight cut for his next fight.
So, who is next? Lee recently lost to former interim champion Tony Ferguson, who’s out on the side-lines for the foreseeable future with a torn ligament requiring a lengthy recovery time. With the absence of both Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson, it seemingly leaves Lee, Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier as the three contenders to face Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Unfortunately, they don’t do triple threat matches in the UFC, which will leave one of these in limbo. We were robbed of Poirier vs. Alvarez, with the fight being called a no contest due to a foul in the second round. It was back-and-forth until then… so that’s the match up I want to see!
Which leaves us with Kevin Lee… Justin Gaethje shouldn’t be fighting again anytime soon, after consecutive wars (and losses) with Alvarez and Poirier should require him to heal up for the next few months. I feel a rematch with Al Iaquinta makes sense… with Al having just taken Khabib Nurmagomedov to the distance on just twenty-four hours’ notice.
Add in the tasty fact that Iaquinta outpointed Lee back at UFC 169, and you’ve got a pretty tasty main event for an upcoming fight night, or as a supporting act on a pay-per-view card. I’m down for that rematch!
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For Edson Barboza… he should also be taking some time out and join Justin Gaethje on the sidelines. In fact, a bout between the two later in the year makes a lot of sense. Both men tend to absorb a lot of damage and are generally considered to be strikers. It would offer both men a change to remain in contention at 155-pounds.
Frankie Edgar was victorious in the co-main event, outpointing Cub Swanson over three rounds in a dominant performance, just seven weeks on from his first knockout defeat to Brian Ortega.
Edgar has pretty much fought everyone at 145-pounds. With Ortega fighting Holloway for the title at UFC 226 and Jose Aldo rumoured to be fighting Jeremy Stephens at UFC on Fox 30, both in July… it leaves Edgar with a lack of a top opponent.
Brazilian Renato Moicano is the only man who I think could fight Frankie in the summer. He has only suffered defeat at the hands of challenger Brian Ortega, and with recent wins over Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar, he should warrant a top contender… such as Frankie Edgar.
Cub Swanson is also looking for a fight, and with multiple fights being made, Darren Elkins makes the perfect opponent in waiting. Elkins called Swanson out last July and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak dating back over three years ago.
The best of the rest…
Justin Willis vs. Justin Ledet
Chase Sherman vs. Mark Godbeer
Dave Branch vs. Derek Brunson
Thiago Santos vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Aljamain Sterling vs. John Dodson
Brett Johns vs. Alejandro Perez
Daniel Hooker vs. Paul Felder
Jim Miller vs. Stevie Ray
