Kevin Lee: ‘I’m Still Going to Be a Champ’ Despite Setback Against Al Iaquinta
Kevin Lee may have lost a fight to Al Iaquinta on Saturday night but he’s far from defeated.
On Monday, Lee released a statement following a hard fought five round decision loss to Iaquinta in the final UFC on FOX card from Milwaukee.
Lee stands by his assumption that he did enough in the early part of the fight to earn the victory against Iaquinta but he also pays credit to his opponent for giving him such a tough time over all 25 minutes.
Heading into the fight, Lee was rather vocal about using his bout against Iaquinta as a way to send a message to reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov that he was coming for the title.
Unfortunately those plans have obviously been deterred following the loss but Lee promises that he’s not giving up on his dreams of becoming champion in the UFC sooner or later.
“The fight on Saturday, I still feel like we won it,” Lee said on Instagram. “I fought a lot off my back foot as a southpaw and against my natural fighting style. My explosiveness and coming forward and being aggressive. I tried to show something a little too different. Al showed up, he put on a great performance, landed a great shot in the fourth round.
“All I can say is, I’m going to be back and I’m still going to be a champ regardless of where it’s at and what it is.”
Following the conclusion of the event, Lee hinted that his future might lie at welterweight because of the exhaustive weight cuts he endures to get down to the lightweight limit.
Lee has long advocated for the UFC to start a 165-pound division as well but UFC president Dana white has said repeatedly that he has no plans to add the weight class.
Regardless of the new weight class, Lee says his title chasing days are far from over and he’ll look to get back on the horse when he returns in 2019.
