It was a rough weekend for Kevin Lee. It started on Friday as “The Motown Phenom” struggled to make the 155-pound limit for his interim lightweight title against Tony Ferguson. Lee missed weight on his first attempt and was given one hour to make the weight. He used every bit of that hour, finally coming in at 154.5 as the clock ticked down.
As he entered the cage on Saturday, Joe Rogan pointed out a blemish on Lee’s chest and speculated that it was staph infection. During the UFC 216 Post-fight Press Conference, Lee confirmed he had been battling staph infection, which made the weight cut more difficult for him.
“The staph infection really didn’t help. I’ve been fighting it for about a week now. It didn’t make the weight cut no easier. I’m sitting here about 185 pounds. A little too big for this weight class now.”
Lee’s tough weight cut and post-fight declaration that he’s too big for the weight class led many to believe that a 165-pound division would be the best course of action for the company. Lee agreed.
“It’s definitely time for a 165-pound weight class. There’s so many guys at 155 and so many guys at 170. I feel like they can do 165 and 175. I think it’s definitely time for a 165-pound weight class. That’s what I’m going to push for.”
While Lee and other fighters may like the idea of an in-between weight class to help solve weight cutting issues, Dana White has a different suggestion.
“You either wanna (cut weight) the right way or you wanna do it your way.
Kevin Lee could have cut weight the right way.”
Dana went on to say that the UFC offers fighters complete and free access to the Performance Institute, which includes food, supplements, training, physical therapy, and more.
Based on Dana’s comments, it doesn’t look like the company will be adding more divisions in the near future. Guys just need to head to the UFC Performance Institute and learn how to properly cut weight.
