UFC Fight Night 152: Dos Anjos vs. Lee - The best and worst 

#2 Worst: Lee and Carlos Junior’s cardio struggles

Antonio Carlos Junior's cardio let him down against Ian Heinisch

MMA is clearly a very tough sport to master, and so anyone who makes it to the upper echelon in the UFC deserves a ton of admiration. Unfortunately though, even the best fighters have holes in their games, and a poor gas tank is perhaps the most unforgiveable one as theoretically, it should be an easy one to fix.

Last night though, both Kevin Lee and Antonio Carlos Junior fell victim to their opponents – but also to themselves in a way, as they simply didn’t have the steam to keep up their early pace and allowed their opponents to take over fights they seemed to be struggling in early on.

Lee’s issue is a curious one; he had trouble with his cardio at 155lbs but the general consensus was that it was due to a big weight cut. His move to 170lbs was supposed to fix the problem but instead he looked exhausted midway through the second round and from there, Rafael Dos Anjos took over the fight.

Whether Lee is carrying too much muscle – or whether his frame simply isn’t suited to 170lbs – is a big question but to move forward, it’s one he’ll need to answer soon.

For Carlos Junior, his fight with Ian Heinisch strongly resembled his 2016 loss to Dan Kelly; a more athletic fighter tiring out and allowing a grittier opponent with more cardio take over.

Given ‘Shoeface’ debuted in the UFC as a Heavyweight, perhaps a move to 205lbs – and less of a weight cut – would help, but as we’ve seen with Lee, a move in weight isn’t always the answer. At any rate, to progress in the UFC further, Carlos Junior must sort his gas tank issues.