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Kevin Lee is doing everything in his power to land on the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) card of the year and it’s pretty admirable.
The former UFC lightweight title challenger has thrown his hat into the cage in effort to compete at UFC 229 on Oct. 6 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas, Nevada, which will be headlined by a monster matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
In a recent Instagram post (shown below), “Motown Phenom” announced that he has entered training camp for the massive PPV event even without an opponent. We’re assuming Lee will also try to trim some extra weight after coming in heavy for his bout with Edson Barboza this past April.
“My camp already starting without a opponent,” wrote Lee. “Somebody getting they ass beat October 6th and I’m not bout to go back and forth with you about it. They shook.”
Is it weird that Lee is readying himself for an event he isn’t even booked for?
Not really. Most fighters try to stay in shape all year long. And with the chance to compete on potentially the biggest card of all time, Lee would be doing himself an injustice if he wasn’t ready to fight in eight weeks.
So who could possibly step in and fight “Motown Phenom” at UFC 229 this October?
Well, Al Iaquinta could be a good candidate to rematch Lee but the New Yorker is holding out for a spot on the UFC 230 card in Madison Square Garden. That leaves former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, the winner of Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick set to go down on Aug. 25, or even rising prospect Alexander Hernandez, although Lee is unlikely to take a big divisional risk against an unknown youngster.
Of course, Lee could always decide to take a fight at 170 pounds and try to take the welterweight division by storm.
Either way, it seems like UFC 229 could be a good landing spot for the flashy lightweight contender, especially if the promotion wants to boost his notoriety among casual fight fans.
For complete UFC 229 fight card news click here.
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