The absence of UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim champ Tony Ferguson has created a logjam in the division’s title picture. However, top contender Kevin Lee expects it to be resolved in the coming year.
In his appearance on a recent episode of MMAjunkie Radio, “The Motown Phenom” is betting on Ferguson to emerge via a dominant win in the supposed fight which he claims is being targeted for March.
“[McGregor] gets his ass beat,” Lee said (transcript via BJPenn.com). “And then who knows, maybe I come back, I fight one, and then I fight McGregor. That’d be a big fight. We’ll see. We’ll see how it shakes up. I still feel like I’m the best fight for [McGregor] in this division. He’s got a couple suitors in there, but I don’t think he beats Tony. There ain’t no way.”
“Tony’s going to be way too experienced, Tony’s going to be way too tough… He’s going to be too much for him. So I’m interested to see that fight.”
“I wish they would just go ahead and make the damn fight happen already,” Lee adds. “I hear it’s supposed to go down in March, so we’ll see.”
Lee is speaking from first-hand experience when he fought “El Cucuy” at UFC 216 in October. After losing via third-round submission, he expects Ferguson to also win by stoppage against McGregor.
“I think [Tony] TKOs him. I think the end of the third round,” Lee predicted. “Tony’s got a weird style. I knew that before getting in there with him, but especially getting in there, he just does a lot of little things. I won’t give up a lot of it, cause that’s just how it is, but he does a lot of things that are like… annoying… that bother you. And I don’t think Conor’s dealt with those types of things before, and it’ll just be too much for him, and eventually, Tony takes him down and TKOs him.”
“I don’t know if [Ferguson will] jump on a submission from top [position],” Lee continued. “He might, but I see him TKOing him.”
Ferguson is currently in recovery after successfully undergoing elbow surgery early this month. The timetable of his return has yet to be determined.