5 burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 28

If you read the headlines, the world might seem to be burning down around us, but the UFC’s relentless machine marches on.

Just one week after a memorable UFC 248, the company returns to one of its favorite destinations, Brazil, for UFC on ESPN+ 28.

In the interim, life as we know it got turned upside down, as the world woke up to the fact that coronavirus is everywhere. That includes Brasilia, which issued a ban on large public gatherings, putting UFC on ESPN+ 28 behind closed doors.

You have to feel for those who bought tickets for the card but can’t go. For a Fight Night-level card just one week after a blockbuster pay-per-view, this event is a pretty solid offering.

That starts right at the top, with the main event. Kevin Lee, a former interim lightweight title challenger who seemed right on the brink of big things, is looking to get back to that status. Opponent Charles Oliveira, himself, is knocking on that door. Put these two all-action competitors in the same cage and lock the door, and you’ve got the recipe for one hell of a fight.

UFC on ESPN+ 28 takes place Saturday at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. The card streams on ESPN+.

Without further ado, then, here are six burning questions leading into UFC on ESPN+ 28.

Is Kevin Lee back on track?

Lee’s career is the case study in why the UFC should consider a 165-pound weight class.

A superbly talented competitor, Lee (18-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is just a little too big for the lightweight class – as has been evidenced by his troubles making 155 pounds – and just a little bit too small for the elite welterweights – as evidenced by his loss to Rafael dos Anjos, the Brazilian’s only win in his past five fights, in Lee’s attempt to go 170.

If there’s ever change in the divisional structure, though, it’s not likely to happen during Lee’s prime. So he went back to 155 pounds, where he made an emphatic statement with a first-round knockout of Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244.

Now he’s back in the main event spotlight, with an interesting challenge in Oliveira (28-8 MMA, 16-8 UFC). Lee needs to prove two things this time out: First, fair or not, we still need to see him get through a string of weigh-ins without looking like death warmed over before we’re going to declare his issues with 155 over. Next, Lee has been submitted twice in his three losses over his past three fights, and this time out, he faces the guy who blew right past Royce Gracie’s UFC submission record and never looked back in Oliveira.

If Lee can ace this both of this week’s tests, then he might just be back in the elite mix after all.