Edson Barboza’s main event battle against Kevin Lee at UFC Atlantic City comes under the shadow of both UFC 223 and the take-no-prisoners war last week between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Atlantic City, NJ — Edson Barboza has a main event tilt Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Taking on Kevin Lee, it’s another top fight in a suddenly red hot 155lb division in the UFC. Yet the bout comes under the shadow of UFC 223 just a couple of weeks ago, when Conor McGregor went on a rampage, and Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the lightweight championship that was stripped from the Irish superstar.
With those events, and the instant classic between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier the week before, Barboza vs. Lee has much to live up to. Things were thrown for a bit of a loop Friday morning, when Barboza’s opponent missed weight (Lee weighed in just before the cut-off time at 157lbs). However, the show must — and will — go on.
Barboza addressed the media ahead of the card on Saturday, and we asked him for his thoughts on Lee, as well as what went down at UFC 223 earlier this month. In particular, we asked him who he’d rather face: Conor McGregor (the money fight) or Khabib Nurmagomedov (which would be a rematch, but for the title).
On UFC 223, Barboza said that “I really don’t think nothing” about it. “Everybody watched that,” he continued. “Everybody knows it’s not the right thing to do, about Conor. Khabib showed, he’s focused on the fight, he goes there to fight, beat the guy, be the champ. That’s the way to do it, he’s there for a fight.”
If he had the choice, all things being equal, it would be a title fight that interests the Brazilian. “A hundred percent fight Khabib,” he said when offered a hypothetical choice between the two. “Don’t believe that ‘money fight.’ I’m a fighter. I fight because I love this s***. I don’t fight for money.”
“Of course,” he added, “I have my family, I have my son, I have my family in Brazil.” However, in the end “if you ask me — of course, a hundred percent, I prefer to fight Khabib.”
As for Kevin Lee, the man he’s going to face this weekend in Atlantic City, Barboza allowed that “he’s a great fighter.”
“He’s one of the best guys in the world,” Barboza said. “He’s a top ten fighter in the world. Very exciting, man, very exciting. I know I need to give my best, that’s it. I know if I go there, give my hundred percent, give my best, I’m going to win this fight.”
Edson Barboza faces Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC Atlantic City, Saturday April 21 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Numerically UFC Fight Night 128, the card airs free on Fox Sports 1.
