Anaheim, CA — Flyweight Andrea Lee’s perfect Valentine’s Day gift should come as no surprise: a win at this Saturday’s UFC 298.
“Getting a win. Kicking ass and getting a win of course,” Lee told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview on, you guessed it, Valentine’s Day. “That’s the best Valentine’s Day gift that I could give to myself and my boyfriend for all the hard work that we’ve been putting in.”
Lee (13-8), known to fight fans globally as “KGB” for her seemingly Russian good looks (she’s actually American through and through), enters UFC 298 on a career-tying three-fight skid. Her last outing saw the former LFC champ lose a decision to Natalia Silva, and KGB Lee is making no bones about that setback.
“That’s a fight that I lost, fair and square. I have nothing bad to say about that fight,” admitted Lee. “She was really good, she showed up, and I feel like I learned a lot from that fight. There’s things I was able to take away as far as in terms of her style and things that I would like to implement in my own game.”
The fight ahead comes against Miranda Maverick, a former off-and-on training partner of Andrea Lee. The difference between training and a live fight, however, is that “we’re going to be giving it our all,” explained Lee. “We’ve trained together a few times, and I don’t ever really give my best with training partners that I know that are potentially going to be opponents for me.”
“Typically I don’t like to train with females that I know are going to be opponents for me. So I try to avoid that. But Miranda and I have trained off and on a few times. We’ve both seen what each other can bring, but at the same time, we were going light. It’s not like we were really giving it our all.”
Lee admits, however, that Maverick has improved from the fighter she sparred with in days gone by. Of course, Lee herself has improved as well.
“I feel like she’s improved a lot, and a lot from the time that we last trained together. As, so have I. I believe that I’ve improved a lot on my game. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we both will bring to the table.”
Watch our full interview with UFC 298’s Andrea Lee above.
