The Motown Phenom is back in the UFC. MMA reporter John Morgan was the first to report last night that former interim title challenger Kevin Lee (19-7) is making his return to the octagon and he’s jumping right into the deep end of the pool. Lee will be taking on surging top contender Rinat Fakhretdinov (21-2).
The fight will take place at a UFC Fight Night on July 1st. For those who aren’t in the know, Fakhretdinov is a guy that nobody wants to fight. Currently he’s won 16 fights in a row and looks like he could be a serious problem for the welterweight division.
After 14 straight wins, Fakhretdinov got the call to make his octagon debut last June. Fakhretdinov won a decision over Andreas Michailidis. From there, he took on Ultimate Fighter winner Bryan Battle and won another decision. Now, he takes on his toughest test to date in Kevin Lee.
UFC Fight Night
Back in 2017, Kevin Lee was riding a five-fight winning streak which earned him an interim title shot against Tony Ferguson. Lee started out very well in that fight, but ultimately gassed out and tapped to a triangle choke in the third round from Ferguson.
Starting with the Ferguson fight, Lee would go just 2-5 in his next seven fights. He did have a big win over Gregor Gillespie, but ended his tenure with the UFC suffering back-to-back losses against Charles Oliveira and Daniel Rodriguez.
Lee signed with Eagle FC and headlined a show in the US against former Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez. Lee won a decision, but suffered an injury. After a one-fight stint with the promotion, Lee is returning to the UFC and taking on a very tough challenge in Fakhretdinov.