Former UFC fighter Kevin Lee set for September 28th MMA return at Lights Out Championship

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee will return to the cage later this month.

‘The Motown Phenom’ hasn’t competed since his return to the UFC last summer. Last July, Kevin Lee faced the rising Rinat Fakhretdinov, in his first fight in the cage in over a year. However, it didn’t take long for ‘Gladiator’ to score a first-round submission victory. Following the defeat, Lee laid his gloves down and retired.

However, he changed his mind earlier this year. In February, Kevin Lee revealed plans to end his retirement and return to the UFC. However, the former title challenger is no longer under contract. Earlier this month, Lee stated that he’s willing to fight his way back to the company and compete in the Contender Series if necessary.

Not long after making those comments, Kevin Lee has booked a return to the cage. As first reported by MMA Junkie earlier today, ‘The Motown Phenom’ will fight on September 28th, at Lights Out Championship. There, Lee will meet the relatively unknown Brazilian journeyman, Thiago Oliveira.

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Lightweight fighter Kevin Lee set for MMA return a year after parting ways with the UFC

For his part, the lightweight will enter the contest holding a 17-12-1 professional record. Oliveira last competed at BTC 24 in June, fighting to a draw against Adam Assenza. A victory over Kevin Lee would be by far the biggest of the journeyman’s career thus far.

Kevin Lee’s fight news comes just a few days after he announced his intention to compete for Gamebred FC. Jorge Masvidal’s bare-knuckle MMA company has attracted several UFC veterans, including the likes of Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson, and Alan Belcher to date. Now, it seems that Lee will be joining the upstart promotion as well.

According to the former UFC title challenger, he will be competing on Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 in November. As of now, the 32-year-old lacks an opponent. However, before Kevin Lee can even think about fighting in bare-knuckle MMA, he has to hand Oliveira a loss later this month.

What do you make of this fight news involving Kevin Lee? Do you hope to see ‘The Motown Phenom’ return to the UFC one day?