UFC 216’s Kevin Lee makes weight on second attempt, had to cut 19-pounds day before weigh-ins

Tensions were high, but UFC 216 headliner Kevin Lee finally made weight on his second attempt.

It took some time, but UFC lightweight standout Kevin Lee made weight on his second attempt at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, hitting the scales at 154.5 lbs.

Lee, who will take on Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 216, showed up just seconds before the deadline and initially weighed in at 156 lbs.

‘The Motown Phenom’ was granted an extra hour to make weight by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and managed to cut the weight on his second attempt.

The 25-year-old title challenger revealed at Thursday’s open workouts that he had to cut a massive 19-pounds before Friday, telling the media that he was walking around at 174 lbs.

“I feel like a million bucks, still full of a lot of energy. I’ve got a big weight cut ahead of me, so that’s where the focus is right now,” Lee said just one day before the weigh-ins, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti.

“Right now I’m about ’74, something like that. I have a decent little cut. It ain’t going to be nothing different. I’ve cut from a lot higher than that.”

Lee, who is on a five-fight win streak, has never missed weight in the past but there was serious concerns as to whether the No. 7 ranked lightweight was going to make it to Saturday’s main event.

His opponent, Ferguson, had his headlining bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov cancelled this past March after ‘The Eagle’ failed to make weight and was forced to withdraw at the last minute.

UFC 216, which features Ferguson vs. Lee as the headlining bout, takes place tomorrow night, Oct. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.