Kevin Lee is facing Tony Ferguson for the vacant UFC Interim Lightweight Title in the main event of UFC 216.
The “Motown Phenom” says that Nurmagomedov doesn’t want to fight for the title to protect his undefeated record.
“We can cut the (expletive) – (Nurmagomedov’s) just being a (expletive) about it,” Lee said on MMA Junkie Radio. “He just doesn’t want to fight. Bottom line, he doesn’t want to fight. He wants to hold on to that imaginary zero that he’s got.”
Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought since UFC 205, where he earned a third round victory over Michael Johnson.
Despite his dislike for Nurmagomedov, the lightweight contender does have a lot of respect for Ferguson.
“Everybody knows – if you ask any fighter in this division, Tony is the toughest fight in this division,” Lee said. “Hands down. To me, he’s the real champ. You can say McGregor’s the champ, because he’s that on paper. But the man only has one fight. Tony’s got 11, 12? He’s already got double-digit fights in the (UFC’s) lightweight division.”
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
