Kevin Lee goes to bat for former opponent Charles Oliveira: “Quit letting them skip over you for the title”
UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee went to bat for former opponent Charles Oliveira, suggesting the Brazilian quit being denied a title shot.
Oliveira is currently riding an eight-fight win streak which is second in the UFC lightweight division behind only champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. With the champ likely set to retire and vacate his belt any day now, there has been much talk about who would be the two fighters in a vacant title fight. While originally it seemed like Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier was the fight to make, in recent days it feels like Oliveira has somehow become an afterthought at 155lbs despite his incredible dominance.
Despite Oliveira coming off one-sided wins over Tony Ferguson and Lee in 2020, the talk of the town as of late has been that Poirier will fight either Conor McGregor in a trilogy, or that he could take on either Justin Gaethje Michael Chandler for the vacant belt instead. It feels like Oliveira, meanwhile, is being ignored. Taking to social media to back up his former opponent, Lee told the Brazilian to stop letting the UFC deny him a title shot. Check out what “The Motown Phenom” wrote on his Twitter below.
Quit letting them skip over you for the title @CharlesDoBronxs
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) February 6, 2021
Quit letting them skip over you for the title @CharlesDoBronxs
Ultimately the UFC matchmakers are the final decision-makers here, so while it’s cool to see Lee pledge his support to Oliveira’s title shot cause, there’s no guarantee it will have any impact on what the UFC wants to do. Based on wins and losses, there is no question Oliveira should be fighting Poirier for the vacant belt. But we all know this sport is about so much more than wins and losses, and it could be that promotional aspect that’s ultimately the reason the UFC chooses to go another route for the belt.
Do you think Kevin Lee is right and that Charles Oliveira should get the next UFC lightweight title shot?
