Flyweight Andrea Lee was able to take a little bit of inspiration from her partner recently. Boyfriend Tony Kelley made his UFC debut last month, and while the end result didn’t go his way, “KGB” Lee remains super proud of him.
“It makes me want to go out there and split someone open. Funny, I’m excited about it, you know? I think it’s pretty awesome that we’re both in the UFC,” she said during the UFC Vegas 10 media day this week.
Lee (11-4) is entering her sixth fight with the promotion this weekend, where she takes on Roxanne Modafferi. The fight is a rematch of their 2014 meeting in Invicta FC. The bout, however, is anything but a grudge match. Lee is on friendly terms with “The Happy Warrior” (really, who isn’t?) and was seen cracking up at a spoof video Modafferi participated in, where Roxy tried out a little trash talk.
“The trash talking was hilarious. I enjoyed watching that,” Lee admitted. “Even the first time that Roxy and I fought, she made light of the situation. She said ‘let’s get dangerous,’ and had the whole Darkwing Duck thing. Anyways, it was funny, it was cute. That’s just Roxy. That’s just how she is.”
“KGB” doesn’t see the light-hearted atmosphere as taking away from what they’re about to do. There’s business to take care of, of course. The pair will put their friendship aside for a spell. But at the same time, “maybe it makes fight week a little easier, you don’t have all the butterflies,” Lee suggested. Besides which, she added, “neither one of us feel any ill will towards the other. We don’t have any animosity towards each other. You know, I like this.”
Coming off losses to Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy, Lee is looking to right her ship this Saturday. Or as she put it, “I need to get the ball rolling. I need to get back on climbing the ladder. I’m on a two-fight skid streak. So I’m here to get this win. And, you know, I want to impress everyone, do it in style.”
A bonus, she added, would be nice. Fight of the Night, of course, means going the distance. “I’m fine with that. It’s going to be an exciting fight. But I would love to get a performance bonus, some sort of finish.”
UFC Vegas 10 takes place this Saturday, September 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN+ (TSN in Canada).
