Report - Rib Injury Rules Kevin Lee From UFC 264 Clash With Sean Brady On July 10th.

Mandatory Credit: John Morgan - MMA Junkie

Former interim UFC lightweight title challenger, Kevin Lee has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 264 clash with the surging, Sean Brady on July 10. from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada -- with reports detailing how he has suffered a rib injury.

Lee, who was slated to make his return to the promotion's welterweight ranks for the first time since a UFC Fight Night Rochester loss to former lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos back in May of 2019, had spent the majority of last year recovering from a pair of ACL tears in each knee.

According to a report tonight from Ariel Helwani, the 28-year-old has been forced to withdraw from his showdown with Roufusport standout, Brady, due to a rib injury.

"Kevin Lee has been forced to withdraw from his July 10 fight versus Sean Brady due to an injured rib, he tells me," Helwani reported. "He said he hopes they (the UFC) re-book the fight for August 7. (UFC 265). Brady first revealed the news on IG (Instagram)."

Posting on his official Instagram account, Brady revealed that his bout with Michigan native, Lee had been cancelled from the promotion's July pay-per-view event.

"Unfortunately I will not be fighting Kevin lee July 10th from my understanding he has suffered an injury and had to to (sic) pull out of the fight," Brady posted. "My team is hoping to rebook the fight for August. Thank you to all my family, friends and fans who support me this is just a speed bump on my journey to being champ."

In a separate message released to MMA Fighting, Brady explained how he was hoping to score a rescheduled pairing with the #11 ranked lightweight, Lee in August, or another top-15 ranked welterweight, rather than face a short-notice replacement on July 10.

"I'm gonna hit the refresh," Brady said. "I want a top-15 (contender), or to be rebooked with (Kevin) Lee. We will see what comes out of it."

This recent development follows a pattern of horrid injury luck for Lee, who suffered an ACL tear during his UFC Fight Night Brasilia headliner against recently-minted undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira back in March of last year on route to a third round guillotine loss.

In the time since, Lee underwent surgery to repair his ACL, and during the recovery period, suffered a tear in his other ACL and knee.

With his second Octagon walk of the year postponed, Brady last featured at UFC 259 in March at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada -- scoring a rather one-sided arm-triangle stoppage over common-opposition, Jake Matthews. The victory came as Brady's fourth from his first four Octagon walks. 

UFC 264 takes place on July 10. from a soldout, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada -- with a lightweight rubber match between former interim champion, Dustin Poirier and former two-weight gold holder, Conor McGregor slated to take headlining honours.