Report: UFC targeting Barboza vs. Lee; event TBD
A pair of top-tier lightweights may soon be sharing the cage - it's just a matter of when and where.
The UFC is working on a tilt between Edson Barboza and Kevin Lee for a yet-to-be-determined event, sources told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on Thursday. UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City (April 21), UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro (May 12), and UFC 225 in Chicago (June 9) have reportedly all been floated as potential fits.
In what was deemed a title eliminator by many, Barboza suffered a lopsided decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 219 in December, a defeat that snapped a three-fight win streak and dropped his promotional record to 13-5. He currently sits fourth in the UFC's lightweight rankings.
Lee's aiming to rebound from a loss of his own - a third-round submission to Tony Ferguson in an interim title bout at UFC 216 in October. The seventh-ranked contender was hindered by both a grueling weight cut and a staph infection en route to the end of his five-fight win streak, but he appears intent on remaining at 155 pounds after openly entertaining a change in division. He boasts a UFC record of 9-3.