Kevin Lee’s weight cut did not go as his coaches intended…
Today at the UFC 216 weigh-ins, Kevin Lee weighed-in at 156lbs. Being one pound over would normally qualify him for the lightweight limit but not for his UFC 216’s interim 155lbs championship fight against Tony Ferguson.
Lee had been the last fighter to hit the scales during the 2-hour window. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) granted Lee another hour to see if he could drop the remaining pound. He arrived back on the scales with just minutes to spare.
Kevin Lee Had 20lbs To Cut With 24 Hours To Go
Yesterday, Lee seemed unphased by having close to 20lbs still to drop before the weigh-ins. At the open workout media scrums, Lee told reporters he was not worried about the amount of weight he still had left to cut.
“(The weight cut) is going to be smooth,” Lee said. “I carry a lot of muscle, so it’s a lot easier for me to cut the water, and I’m just not a b*tch about it. I had tiramisu last night. So, look, look, the sh*t gonna hurt when it gets down to the last (few pounds), when it gets down to the end, but I’m gonna man up about it, especially when you’re talking 20 percent (of my purse). There’s a lot of things I’d do for 40 or 50 g’s, I’ll tell you that right now.”
Tiramisu is delicious, but how many lightweight fighters are going to choose it over fighting for a title?
“I just enjoy tiramisu,” Lee said. “I ain’t no b*tch. If you’re out there and tiramisu is the reason why you don’t go out there and make a lot of money and put your life on the line for these folks — and I ain’t got 4,000 Russians that are showing up for me, so that’s up to him (Nurmagomedov). He knows.”
Size Advantage Part of Kevin Lee’s Strategy
According to Lee’s coach, Robert Follis, coming into the cage as a heavy lightweight was part of the plan. Follis also did not sound too worried about his fighter’s upcoming weight cut.
“We’ve done this every camp,” Follis said. “He’s a huge dude. And I would venture to say Tony’s probably not a lot smaller at this point. You’re talking about the big, big guys in this division and they all have tough weight cuts, and until we make a change in the rules, that’s going to be what it is. Until they add some weight classes or change how the weight cuts go, if you want to be a dominant force, you’re going to be pushing that envelope. But we’ve never missed weight and I don’t expect it to be a problem in this one either.”
Kevin Lee Makes Weight Last Minute
Kevin Lee was able to cut 1.5lbs in the extra hour which had been given to him by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. After weighing in at 154.5lbs he officially made weight and is eligible to win the interim lightweight championship tomorrow night against Tony Ferguson.
Nick Lentz had to be removed from the card due to medical issues but all other fighters made weight.
Main card (PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Kevin Lee (154.5)
Demetrious Johnson (125) vs. Ray Borg (124)
Fabricio Werdum (247) vs. Derrick Lewis (263.5)
Mara Romero Borella (126) vs. Kalindra Faria (125)
Beneil Dariush (156) vs Evan Dunham (156)
Undercard (FXX at 8 p.m. ET)
Tom Duquesnoy (135.5) vs. Cody Stamann (136)
Bobby Green (155) vs. Lando Vannata (155.75)
Pearl Gonzalez (126) vs. Poliana Botelho (115)
Undercard (UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET)
Walt Harris (251) vs. Mark Godbeer (244.5)
John Moraga (126) vs. Magomed Bibulatov (126)
Thales Leites (185.5) vs. Brad Tavares (185.5)
Matt Schnell (126) vs. Marco Beltran (126)
