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Bellator 238 breakdown: Can Cris Cyborg get back to her dominant ways vs. Julia Budd?

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the Bellator 238 headlining title fight between Julia Budd and Cris Cyborg.

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MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 238.

Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Julia Budd (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA)

Staple info:

Height: 5’8″ Age: 36 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 69″
Last fight: TKO win over Olga Rubin (July 12, 2019)
Camp: Gibson MMA (Canada)
Stance/striking style: Orthodox/muay Thai
Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:

+ Bellator featherweight champion
+ Pro muay Thai experience (10-2 record)
+ 6 KO victories
+ 1 submission win
+ 3 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Fundamentally sound striker
^ Works the body and legs well
+ Strong inside of the clinch
^ Knees, trips and takedowns
+ Solid positional grappler
^ Works well from topside

Cris Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA)

Staple info:

Height: 5’8″ Age: 34 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68″
Last fight: Decision win over Felicia Spencer (July 27, 2019)
Camp: Cris Cyborg MMA Fitness (California)
Stance/striking style: Orthodox/muay Thai
Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:

+ UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
+ 17 KO victories
+ 10 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Evolved striking
^ Shot selection and technique
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Solid wrestling and takedown ability
+ Good positional grappler
^ Devastating ground striker

Point of interest: Muay Thai maelstrom

The main event for Bellator 238 features a fantastic featherweight title fight between two females who are familiar with the art of eight limbs.

Coming from professional muay Thai, a sport where she was the only person to defeat Gina Carano, [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] has followed the path of prior female kickboxers like Marloes Coenen (whom Budd retired) and the previously mentioned Carano, successfully transitioning into MMA in her own unique way.

Under the care of her coach and counterpart Lance Gibson (Gibson MMA), we’ve seen Budd establish a well rounded mixed martial arts game that helps translate her striking in a safe and smart manner.

Seldom throwing herself out of position, Budd does a great job of staying on balance while throwing fundamentally-sound strikes to different targets. The Bellator featherweight champion does particularly well at sharpshooting leg and body attacks, but I’m curious as to how her sometimes lower-output style will stack up against a fellow striker who also offers layers to her game.

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Enter [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag].

Starting off her run as more of a brawling talent from Brazil, Cyborg has found a place to call home in Southern California, working with Jason Parillo to sharpen her striking. A coach who has helped refine fighters such as B.J. Penn and Michael Bisping, Parillo’s influence and subsequent work with Cyborg has shown to play a role in her evolution over recent chapters of her career.

Now, displaying a much more measured approach to pressure, the 34-year-old will steadily stalk forward while managing the distance to her preferred terms. Upgrading her overall stance, Cyborg seems to keep her balance much better, seldom getting herself out of position.

Prodding with a jab to enter space, Cyborg needs all but the slightest bite (or sign of blood in the water) to swarm her opposition with offensive waves of hooking punches and body kicks. However, given the opponent at hand, I suspect that Cyborg will be picking her shots a bit more cautiously given the level-changing threats that the sitting champion offers.

Next point of interest: Clinching crossroads

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Joe Lauzon noncommittal on future, confident UFC will allow him to fight again – if he wants it

Joe Lauzon often gets asked the same question, “Will you fight again?”

[autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag] often gets asked the same question: “Will you fight again?”

After his dominant UFC on ESPN 6 beatdown against Jonathan Pearce in October, Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) answered the question the same way he always has: noncommittally.

At the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White voiced a different opinion. White told reporters Lauzon promised he would retire after UFC on ESPN 6 and that he’d be held to his promise.

However, White’s statement was the result of a miscommunication, according to Lauzon. One of the UFC’s all-time bonus leaders, Lauzon told MMA Junkie he is confident the promotion will give him another shot – if he wants it.

“I know they’ll let me fight again,” Lauzon said. “That whole thing, I texted Dana about. I was like, ‘I don’t want you to think I’m not a man of my word.’ I sent him a screenshot of our (prior) texts. The text I sent him said, ‘If I fight again and it does not go well, I promise you’ll never hear from me. This will be my last fight if it doesn’t go well.’ He said, ‘OK, deal.’ The fight did not go poorly. The fight went great. It couldn’t have gone any better.

“… (After the press conference), I sent him a screenshot and he sent me back the emoji of the kid with his hands up. It happened so far out, though. It was like six months before, so I’m sure he was just thinking it’d be my last fight in Boston. Then, it went so well – so does it have to be my last one?”

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Does it have to be Lauzon’s last one? Certainly not, said the 35-year-old fighter. But will it be? That’s a different question entirely. When he gets the fighting itch again, he plans on stepping up the training and seeing what happens.

“It’s in my heart to still fight. It 100 percent is,” Lauzon said. “It’s still in my heart to go prepare and train and go through all that stuff for sure. The logical side of my brain says, ‘You had a lot of fights in the UFC.’

“… My fight was in October, and we’re into January now. I’ve had three months to chill and relax a little bit. We’re slowly amping up the training and we’ll see what happens. I’m definitely going to keep amping things up and see how it goes. If things keep going smooth, I’ll likely fight again. If I get banged up again or something bothers me, I’ll dial it back a little bit. Then we’ll have to get another amping-up process go smooth if we’re going to fight again. The nice thing is, I don’t have to fight in the UFC. I’m sure if I want to fight again, they’ll let me fight again. If I don’t want to fight again, I’m sure they’re fine with that, too. It’s nice to be able to go at my own pace and decide for myself. … I’m a little bit torn. Day-to-day, minute-to-minute, you ask me, I’d say 60-40 I fight or 60-40 I don’t fight again.”

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Coaching and fighting aren’t the only things on Lauzon’s plate. He’ll be making his commentary debut Friday at CES MMA 60 on UFC Fight Pass. With ESPN’s proximity to Massachusetts however, Lauzon isn’t ruling out a potential gig down the road.

“It’s definitely something I’d look into,” Lauzon said. “My big thing is I’m trying to focus on my gym. My gym is here in Easton, Mass. I’m not moving to (Los Angeles). I’m not moving to Las Vegas like a lot of these other commentators. They’re able to pick up and move and go wherever.

“ESPN is in Connecticut, which is not super far away. That wouldn’t be terrible. It’s a little bit of a drive, but not bad. Who knows? I might do commentary on Friday and I might suck. I could be terrible. I think I’ll be good, but we’ll see.”

CES MMA 60 takes place Friday at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The main card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Paige VanZant reveals another arm fracture caused UFC withdrawal: ‘This isn’t the end of my story’

Paige VanZant’s toughest opponent continues to be her right arm.

[autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]’s toughest opponent continues to be her right arm.

For the past couple years, VanZant (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has been pushing to get her arm back to 100 percent after suffering the initial injury during a January 2018 fight with Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124. She’s had multiple surgeries to repair the damage, and it seemed as though 2020 might be the year everything got back on track.

But more adversity has come VanZant’s way. After news broke this week that VanZant was out of her scheduled bout with Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN+ 28, the popular UFC strawweight posted on social media Friday to reveal yet another fracture to the arm was the culprit.

VanZant claimed the injury will push her octagon return back another two months, but she is keeping positive spirits that she will overcome her health struggles (via Instagram):

View this post on Instagram

You know that Japanese proverb “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” Well my story is break your arm three times, keep fighting four. Anyone could choose to give up here, it would be the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength. Yes I fractured my arm again. No this isn’t the end of my story. This is a very small fracture and will only take 6-8 weeks to heal. My Dr. said I will be back ready to take a fight in May. This is the second time I broke through a screw hole where my plate in my arm is, third break in a third spot. I know I need to adjust my training now that I have a permanent plate and screws in there. I will make those adjustments and I will return successfully just as I have before. I am not going anywhere, I am only 25 years old and I am a gangster fighter. I will be making my UFC return in May. God just wanted me to have a little more patience. Send me some good vibes #fanzants I could use some love

A post shared by Paige VanZant (@paigevanzant) on Jan 24, 2020 at 9:37am PST

You know that Japanese proverb “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” Well my story is break your arm three times, keep fighting four. Anyone could choose to give up here, it would be the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength. Yes I fractured my arm again. No this isn’t the end of my story. This is a very small fracture and will only take 6-8 weeks to heal. My Dr. said I will be back ready to take a fight in May. This is the second time I broke through a screw hole where my plate in my arm is, third break in a third spot. I know I need to adjust my training now that I have a permanent plate and screws in there. I will make those adjustments and I will return successfully just as I have before. I am not going anywhere, I am only 25 years old and I am a gangster fighter. I will be making my UFC return in May. God just wanted me to have a little more patience. Send me some good vibes #fanzants I could use some love

VanZant hasn’t competed since UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January 2019, where she earned a submission win over Rachael Ostovich. “12 Gauge” has been scheduled in multiple fights since then, but nothing has come to fruition due to the injuries.

It’s well known that VanZant only has one fight remaining on her UFC contract, and she has made it clear she intends to test the free agency market once she completes that bout. Her husband, Austin Vanderford, is a middleweight fighter for Bellator.

It will be some more time before VanZant gets that free agency experience, though. Now she has to endure the rehabilitation process from another injury setback.

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UFC on ESPN+ 24 predictions: Can ex-champ Junior Dos Santos upset Curtis Blaydes?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN+ 24 main card in Raleigh, N.C., featuring Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior Dos Santos.

	Blaydes vs. Dos Santos	Chiesa vs. Dos Anjos	Espinosa vs. Perez	Cifers vs. A. Hill	J. Hill vs. Stosic
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 3-1	Blaydes (62%)	Dos Anjos (62%)	Perez (85%)	Cifers (52%)	J. Hill (63%)
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 4-0 2017 Champion	Blaydes	Dos Anjos	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 4-0	Dos Santos	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 3-1 2019 Champion*	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 3-1	Dos Santos	Dos Anjos	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 3-1	Blaydes	Dos Anjos	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 3-1	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 3-1	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	Cifers	J. Hill
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 3-1 2014 Champion	Blaydes	Dos Anjos	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 3-1	Dos Santos	Dos Anjos	Perez	Cifers	J. Hill
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 3-1	Dos Santos	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 3-1	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 2-2 2018 Champion	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 2-2	Dos Santos	Chiesa	Perez	A. Hill	J. Hill
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 2-2	Blaydes	Chiesa	Perez	Cifers	Stosic

The has touched down in a new North Carolina city for the first time, and a former heavyweight champion is atop the card.

UFC on ESPN+ 24 takes place Saturday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former heavyweight champ [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] (21-6 MMA, 15-5 UFC) will try to get back on track when he takes on [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC). Dos Santos lost to Francis Ngannou this past July and had a three-fight winning streak snapped. Blaydes has lost just twice in his career – both to Ngannou. But he’s working on a two-fight streak since his most recent setback to him, and he’s a fairly heavy favorite in the fight at around -260. Blaydes has a big 9-5 lead in the picks from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.

In the co-main event, former lightweight champ [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (29-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) continues his run at welterweight when he takes on [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who is 2-0 since he moved to the division from 155 pounds. Although dos Anjos is a big favorite around -270, it’s Chiesa who has a 9-5 lead from our pickers.

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We have one unanimous pick on the main card. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has the support of all 14 of our pickers in his flyweight bout against [autotag]Jordan Espinosa[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (10-7 MMA, 5-7 UFC) has a heavy 11-3 picks lead over North Carolina local [autotag]Hannah Cifers[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their women’s strawweight bout – though Hill is just a slight favorite at the sports books, and our readers are picking Cifers.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) nearly is a unanimous pick in his promotional debut at light heavyweight against [autotag]Darko Stosic[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Only one picker is taking Stosic in what would be a mild upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Blaydes (62 percent), dos Anjos (62 percent), Perez (85 percent), Cifers (52 percent) and Jamahal Hill (63 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Jack Shore vs. Geraldo de Freitas added to UFC London

Unbeaten European prospect Jack Shore will make his second octagon appearance when he takes on Geraldo de Freitas at UFC London.

Unbeaten European prospect [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag] will make his second octagon appearance in London.

Shore (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will face [autotag]Geraldo de Freitas[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London, UFC officials announced Thursday.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place March 21 at The O2 in London. The card is expected to stream on ESPN+.

Former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Shore delivered in his UFC debut when he submitted Nohelin Hernandez in the third round at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in Copenhagen. The win won him a “Performance of the Night” bonus. He will look to remain unbeaten when he takes on de Freitas.

Brazil’s de Freitas has split his first two octagon appearances and is coming off a split decision loss to Chris Gutierrez at UFC on ESPN+ 14, which snapped his seven-fight winning streak.

With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 29 lineup includes:

Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards
John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
Darren Stewart vs. Marvin Vettori
Tom Aspinall vs. Raphael Pessoa
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Molly McCann
Paul Craig vs. Ryan Spann
Nicolas Dalby vs. Danny Roberts
Gabriel Benitez vs. Lerone Murphy
Marc Diakiese vs. Stevie Ray
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
Geraldo de Freitas vs. Jack Shore

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UFC on ESPN+ 24 weigh-in faceoff highlights: Heavyweight showdown hits Raleigh

Check out the video highlights from the UFC on ESPN+ 24 weigh-in faceoffs in Raleigh, N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The weigh-ins are in the books for the UFC’s debut in a new North Carolina city.

UFC on ESPN+ 24 takes place Saturday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The card streams on ESPN+.

In the main event, Curtis Blaydes (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) takes on former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (21-6 MMA, 15-5 UFC). In the co-feature, Michael Chiesa (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) meets ex-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos (29-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) at welterweight.

Friday, the fighters made weight at the official weigh-ins in the morning, then got face to face quickly afterward at UFC’s host hotel in Raleigh. Check out the highlights in the video above, and don’t miss our exclusive photo gallery below.

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AJ Agazarm reflects on ‘white belt’ year in MMA heading into Bellator 238

The Diaz brothers-protege believes he’s come a long way since his debut last January.

LOS ANGELES – Almost one year ago to the day, [autotag]AJ Agazarm[/autotag] made his MMA debut.

On Saturday night at Bellator 238, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Agazarm (2-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) steps into the cage for his fourth bout. The Diaz brothers protege believes he’s come a long way in the past year.

On Wednesday at Bellator 238 media day, Agazarm told MMA Junkie he’s learned a lot about how to operate in and out of the cage during his “white belt” year.

“I came into MMA a white belt,” Agazarm said. “I’ve been fortunate to have some red belts to look up to. It’s been a journey.”

Agazarm said he’s learned the importance of keeping an open mind. Every combat sport is different. While he had a very successful career in grappling, MMA has different nuances he’s picked up.

“The dynamic of anything – I come from a big family, so it’s a pretty dynamic family,” Agazarm said. “There’s always a lot of moving parts just like anything else. You look at things more as a whole. I try not to individualize myself in the situation. There are a lot of fighters on this roster. You look at Bellator’s schedule over the past couple months, they were in Japan, they were in Hawaii, they were all over the place.

“This is just another show on their calendar, but I’m working to make this a special show. That’s why I work my tail off – to give you guys something to report on (and) give the fans something to watch. I’ll give myself my best foot forward in everything I do.”

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At Bellator 238, Agazarm takes on his most experienced opponent to date, Adel Altamimi. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Altamimi (8-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has seen the judges’ scorecards only once in his pro career.

“Every fight has their go-to things,” Agazarm said. “There’s something to be said about when you turn up the heat a little bit. You put the sun right in their eyes and you get it as hot as possible. It’s like, ‘How good are you?’ That’s really what I’m going to do. I’m going to start it with as hot as I possibly can and sustain that for the entire duration until he either gives up or the final bell rings.”

Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full pre-fight interview with Agazarm above.

Video: Watch Friday’s UFC on ESPN+ 24 weigh-in faceoffs live on MMA Junkie at 11 a.m. ET

Check out a live video stream of the UFC on ESPN+ 24 ceremonial weigh-ins.

RALEIGH, N.C. – UFC on ESPN+ 24 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in Raleigh, N.C. PNC Arena hosts Saturday’s event, which streams on ESPN+.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official UFC on ESPN+ 24 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

Kevin Holland says he’s fighting Jack Marshman at UFC on ESPN+ 29

A middleweight matchup has been added to UFC London, according to one of the competitors.

[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] says he has his next fight.

A Texas-based middleweight, Holland (16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) announced he’ll be flying across the pond for his next fight: [autotag]Jack Marshman[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 29. The announcement was made on his official Instagram page Friday.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place March 21 at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

Holland, 27, most recently competed in October at UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston. Although he came out on the losing end of a submission, Holland gave a gutsy performance against UFC debutant Brendan Allen. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for Holland dating back to November 2018.

The 30-year-old Mashman (23-9 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has lost three of his most recent four outings. At UFC 239 in July, Marshman was submitted by rising star Edmen Shahbazyan. Prior to that, Marshman edged out a split decision victory against John Phillips in March.

View this post on Instagram

Smack man is going to London On my 007 s*** Dm me for any sponsor ships @koreps

A post shared by kevin holland (@trailblaze2top) on Jan 24, 2020 at 6:07am PST

The latest UFC on ESPN+ 29 lineup includes:

Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards
John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
Darren Stewart vs. Marvin Vettori
Tom Aspinall vs. Raphael Pessoa
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Molly McCann
Paul Craig vs. Ryan Spann
Nicolas Dalby vs. Danny Roberts
Marc Diakiese vs. Stevie Ray
Gabriel Benitez vs. Lerone Murphy
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
Geraldo de Freitas vs. Jack Shore
Kevin Holland vs. Jack Marshman

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Charles Oliveira up next, but Kevin Lee hasn’t forgotten about Islam Makhachev. He guarantees it

A stipulation in accepting a fight at UFC Brasilia, Kevin Lee says, was that he’d get Islam Makhachev after that.

[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] was going to take the [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] fight under one condition: He gets [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] right after.

Lee (18-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) will head into enemy territory in March when he headlines UFC on ESPN+ 28 against the streaking Oliveira (28-8 MMA, 16-8 UFC).

But why not Makhachev first after all of their Twitter talk? Lee explains that the UFC didn’t think Makhachev was ready.

“That was one of the stipulations behind me taking this fight against Oliveira, is I for sure get Islam,” Lee told MMA Junkie. “They can’t hide him from me no more. They were talking about, ‘Oh hey, he ain’t experienced enough yet to fight you, he needs a little bit more time to get ready.’ …If I do this one against Charles, I for sure – one of my bonuses for this is to get Islam.

“So, basically what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to sign two bout agreements. I’m trying to sign this one then I’m trying to sign the one in June. I mean, I don’t think anyone’s ever done that in the UFC, but them rules are made to be broken.”

Initially, Lee wanted to fight Makhachev (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) on the same UFC 249 card that lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is headlining with Tony Ferguson in April.

Lee thought hat would have been a perfect addition to the card, but he thinks the UFC opted against it, because the matchup wouldn’t get the shine that it deserves.

A headliner in Makhachev’s home country of Russia would be a better option.

“I think they thought that that card was already finished,” Lee said. “They got Khabib, they got Rose Namajunas – for me, I was like, ‘Let’s make this a mega event.’ You got Khabib, Namajunas, then me vs. Islam? It’s going to push that pay-per-view into the next little level, but I think they they look at it like we want that fight to be even bigger. We want it to be in Russia, and it makes sense there, especially for it to headline, so they kind of sold me on it.”

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As soon as the fight between Lee and Oliveira was announced, Makhachev had some words for Lee, accusing him of taking the easy way out. But Lee isn’t too fazed.

“He can say what he wants,” Lee said. “Either way, we’re still going to have our date in June.”

Lee wasn’t about to sit and wait until June, so he decided to take on Oliveira, who the UFC wanted to headline the March 14 show in Brazil all along. While Lee admits that he needed a bit of convincing, he doesn’t mind being the one to halt Oliveira’s winning streak.

That’s something Lee did in spectacular fashion in his last fight by knocking out Gregor Gillespie with a head kick at UFC 244 to bounce him from the ranks of the unbeaten.

“Oliveira is hot and cold, but I feel like he’s in the prime of his career right now,” Lee said. “He’s 30 years old. I think he just had a daughter, too, so that kind of gave him an extra little bit of fire. And if you look at his last two fights especially, I mean he’s like on a crazy six-fight win streak, but if you look at his last two fights, he’s really stepping up and he’s really, I think, hit another little stride in his career.

“So for me, I gotta go out there, and I gotta take that momentum away from him. I gotta keep beating these guys that nobody else wants to fight. It’s the harder, longer route in a career, but it’s something that I’m doing.”

You can hear more from Lee on Oliveira and Makhachev in the video above. For the full interview, check out the video below.