Kevin Lee says UFC offered him to fight Darren Till at UFC London; wants Gregor Gillespie at 155
At UFC London, Darren Till will be headlining the card and taking on Jorge Masvidal. However, that fight wasn’t the one the UFC was hoping to book. Instead, Kevin Lee said he was offered the fight. Lee last fought at UFC Milwaukee in which Al Iaquinta defeated him by unanimous decision. That loss set Lee back and the move to welterweight made sense, however, Lee is prepared to continue to fight at lightweight.
“They offered me Darren Till for that main event spot in London and I think they trying to push me out the division,” Lee told MMAjunkie Radio. “They pretty much approached me right after the fight and they asked me would I go 170. I’m like, ‘Not really (interested). This is where I started, this is where I’m going to get that belt first and just keep moving on. I just wasn’t interested. I’m going to stay at 155 and someone is going to get hurt.”
Although Lee wasn’t interested right away, he didn’t decline the fight right away. Rather, he decided to think about it. Then, after thinking on it more, Lee decided he will stay fight at 155, and fighting in London against a hometown guy doesn’t make sense for him.
“I slept on it for the night then I woke up in the morning and it was the same thing,” Lee said. “I try not to make decisions on the fly like that. It just still wasn’t too interesting. There’s still so much work for me to be done at 155.”
Lee is hoping to return soon and is eyeing another fight at lightweight and already has an opponent in mind. That is rising star and grappling star, Gregor Gillespie.
“There’s the Gregor Gillespie kid who looked real good,” Lee said. “He ain’t going to spend no time calling nobody out. I’m trying to get in touch with his people while he out in the woods. I was impressed with that last fight and that’s definitely a fight I’m looking at now. I would be giving him a shot and coming up. I’ve already put my offer out there I’m just waiting to hear back. The kid can fight. He’s undefeated. I really wasn’t too impressed with him, but hat last fight versus Yancy, he did all right. I think I might go ahead and get that done, it’s just on him whether he wants to have it or not.”
