Kevin Lee Says He And Rafael Dos Anjos May Weigh In At 165 For Their Fight Next Month

Talk of the introduction of a 165-pound division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t seeming to go away, and it was again brought up by reporters at the recent UFC seasonal press conference, where UFC President Dana White forced to cool down any speculation.

Many fighters have expressed their interest in fighting at 165 pounds maintaining that it would represent a needed middle ground between the 155-pound lightweight division and the welterweight division, which would be moved up to a 175 pound limit. At the UFC seasonal press conference, Kevin Lee and Rafael dos Anjos, two former lightweight contenders now competing at welterweight, were present as the pair are scheduled to fight in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 9 on May 18.

At UFC 236 last weekend, Lee spoke to reporters and said he may seek a gentleman’s agreement with “RDA” for both of them to show up to their welterweight bout at 165 pounds (transcription via MMA Junkie).

“Maybe, it might be a little backroom deal that we got on there,” Lee said. “‘RDA’ is kind of, he don’t really give you too much to go off of, and he don’t really give you too much back and forth, so, you know – I’ll ask him, see what he thinks about it.

“If he’s down with it, I’d be down – and I’d cut an extra little five pounds for that, make a statement, make some noise. It’s in our contract, we ain’t got to, but I like to push some buttons.”

UFC Fight Night 151, also known as UFC on ESPN+ 9, takes place May 18, 2019 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. It is scheduled to be headlined by the welterweight clash between Dos Anjos and Lee, with another welterweight matchup, between Vicente Luque and Neil Magny, currently set as the co-main event.