Kevin Lee plans to send Al Iaquinta back to the prelims

Through 20-career fights, Kevin Lee has only lost three times.

On Saturday at UFC on FOX 31, Lee will look to avenge one of those blemishes as he faces Al Iaquinta in a rematch. Lee was only 21-years-old when he suffered the first loss of his career to Iaquinta back at UFC 169. Losing by unanimous decision at the time, Lee not only plans to get his hand raised on Saturday, but he plans to send Iaquinta back to the preliminary portion of the card.

“I just feel like I’m a completely different fighter from that [2014 fight] and I think anybody who watches that and then goes back and watches me in my recent years, you can just tell I’m a different man than that.” Lee told Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour. 

“He’s got some good qualities probably, but we just are two different types of people,” Lee added. “We’ve crossed paths a couple times in these last years, and we’re just two different [people]. He’s that Jersey boy that’s going to get drunk and f*ck up a hotel room, and I just don’t think there’s a — his voice shouldn’t be no bigger than it already is, so I feel like it’s my personal duty to get him up out of there and put him back on the prelims.”

Kevin Lee (17-3) has won 10 of his last 13 fights, including a TKO victory over Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 128 in his last fight. The 26-year-old hasn’t gone the distance in a fight since Apr. 2016, finishing five of his last six opponents. The Xtreme Couture product believes fans will get their moneys worth in the main event.

“He’s got some things that I’ve got to watch out for. Al’s a tough guy, I’m not going to take it away from him. I don’t really like him, but I’m going to respect his style and I’m going to respect his skills. He could show up and he’s never going to go away, and it’s going to make for a damn good fight, so I’ve made this training camp the hardest that it could possibly be because I know he’s going to give me a good fight.”

Al Iaquinta (13-4-1) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, where he fought for the lightweight title on short-notice. The loss snapped the New York native’s five-fight win streak. Through 18-career fights, Iaquinta has never lost two-fights in a row.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/12/2018.