Tony Ferguson faces Kevin Lee to crown new interim lightweight champion
There will be a new interim lightweight champion very soon.
Fresh off an incredible nine fight win streak, Tony Ferguson will face off with surging lightweight contender Kevin Lee to crown a new interim title holder at 155 pounds with the fight expected to take place at UFC 216 on Oct. 7 in Las Vegas.
UFC president Dana White announced the matchup on Tuesday night following the latest edition of his Contender Series event in Las Vegas.
Ferguson (22-3) was actually supposed to fight for the interim title back in March against undefeated Russian contender Khabib Nurmagomedov but the bout was scrapped with less than a day remaining until the event.
Nurmagomedov was forced off the card after suffering through a brutal weight cut and according to White he’s still dealing with an injury that won’t allow him to return as early as October.
Meanwhile, Lee (16-2) has been very impressive in his past five victories in a row including a first round submission win over former “Ultimate Fighter” champion Michael Chiesa.
Ferguson vs. Lee will crown a new interim lightweight champion while current 155-pound king Conor McGregor prepares for his upcoming boxing match against Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26.
It’s expected that McGregor will return to unify the title against the winner of Ferguson vs. Lee either later this year or in 2018.
