Kevin Lee Has Changed His Mind About How Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson Will Likely Play Out

Khabib Nurmagomedov was the favorite to defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 last month, and the lightweight champ did just that. But, Kevin Lee was so impressed with what he saw out of the undefeated fighter, September 7th, he’s changed his mind about how Tony Ferguson stacks up against Khabib.

Nurmagomedov’s recent win

Heading into UFC 242, the consensus was that Khabib’s wrestling and top game would likely rule the day, as it has in pretty much all of his bouts prior. But, due to the finishing abilities of Poirier, and because of his extensive experience, there were some who believed “The Diamond” could pull off the upset.

While Poirier had a couple of memorable moments, Khabib controlled much of the action with his wrestling, and submitted him in round three.

Lee’s take on the champ’s performance

Well, recently Lee spoke with MMA Junkie, and the lightweight contender let it be known he was very impressed with Nurmagoedov’s performance. Case in point, here’s some of what the renowned grappler had to say:

“I got to be honest: If you asked me before the Poirier fight, I would have been like Tony (Ferguson) is still like a 90 percent chance of winning,” Lee said. “After seeing what Khabib did to Poirier, I think it’s going to be very hard for Tony to beat him.”

“After the Tony fight, there’s not many more competitors that people want to see fight him. That’s one of the big motivations for me to go down 155…

“I’m not going to lie: It was very, very impressive, and the people know I don’t get impressed very easily, especially with a guy like Khabib, but that one is very impressive,” Lee said. “One of those fights that got me up even, it made me step my game up. Literally, as soon as that fight was over, I got in my car and started driving to Montreal. I know what type of work I got to put in now.”

This is indeed, pretty interesting to hear. Due to Ferguson’s dangerous, unorthodox striking, and in particular, because of his nasty guard, many people believe “El Cucuy” will pose a serious threat to Nurmagomedov’s reign. If and when the fight happens of course…

That fight aside, it will be interesting to see who Lee fights next. After being submitted by Rafael dos Anjos in a welterweight contest this past May, Lee (as noted above) is returning to 155. “The Motown Phenom” faced Ferguson in 2017, and was submitted by a third round, triangle choke.