OFFICIAL: Andy Lee is not fully aboard the mixed martial arts bandwagon.
The WBO Middleweight champion has revealed that he supports fellow countryman Conor McGregor when he fights but that he isn’t a fan of the UFC in general.
“I’m a big fan of his [McGregor’s],” Lee told Second Captains. “I’m not a big fan of the UFC but I’d watch his fights. I think the UFC is more for the instant gratification kind of generation. The YouTube video watching generation.
“Where you’re in, two guys fight each other and it’s over quickly. It’s a quick pay-off, whereas with boxing it’s more of an investment and sometimes you don’t always get the pay-off. But you have to appreciate what you’re watching in terms of artistry and the history attached to boxing.”
Lee does admit, though, that he admires the superior organisation on display in the UFC.
“They are exploiting boxing’s lack of organisation,” he said. “They have one guy organising it, calling the shots and one champion in each division. It’s exposing boxing’s lack of organisation and co-operation with each other, in a way.”
When asked if he’d consider adopting the trash-talking style of McGregor in order to hype fights, the Limerick fighter revealed that it’s just not his style.
“He’s a phenomenon. But for me to start carrying on like that it would be out of my character and people would be like ‘what is he doing?’ But he’s done great for himself in what he has created. It’s a cultural phenomenon, isn’t it? More people know about UFC in Ireland and it’s because of him. Before him it was a niche sport.”
While we’d argue that the UFC hasn’t been a niche sport in over ten years, Lee’s always going to defend his sport over another.
Lee will go head-to-head with an MMA event in Ireland for his next title defense as his bout with Billy Joe Saunders is slated for Thomond Park on September 19, the same date that BAMMA 22 takes place in Dublin but we’re sure he’ll have no problem selling tickets for his historic homecoming fight.
