UFC Shuts Door on Former Interim Lightweight Title Challenger: ‘They’re Not Interested at All’
The UFC is officially out of the Kevin Lee business.
Once upon a time, the ‘Motown Phenom’ was one of the most intriguing prospects in the UFC’s loaded lightweight division. However, an interim title loss against Tony Ferguson at UFC 216 put him on course for a lackluster 2-5 run that ultimately led to his outright release in November 2021.
After bagging a win over Diego Sanchez under the Eagle FC banner, Lee was given another shot by Dana White and Co, making his return to the promotion in July 2023 for a scrap with Rinat Fakhretdinov. 55 seconds into the scrap, Fakhretdinov caught Lee with a guillotine choke.
Lee retired from MMA shortly after, but during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, revealed that he had been desperately trying to re-sign with the UFC, even offering to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series for a paltry 5k payout.
Unfortunately, the UFC wasn’t interested.
“I really want to compete. For me, money isn’t necessarily the biggest issue; I said I’d take that fight for $5k on Contender Series against the best Contender they got,” Lee told Helwani. “They weren’t interested in that. Why? I don’t know. I didn’t have much conversation with the UFC besides Sean Shelby, and he said he wasn’t really interested in something like that. When I talk with Ali [Abdelaziz], and he tells me anything about the UFC, he says they’re not interested at all.
“Why that is? I couldn’t tell you. I’ve been in some of the biggest fights in UFC history. I finished off their Fox deal going into the ESPN deal, and I’m a pretty easy guy to work with,” Lee concluded. “I feel like I’m professional, I do what I need to do, and I don’t rub too many people the wrong way. Why they didn’t want me to go on Contender Series to prove I’m still one of the best 155ers out there, I don’t know, but I’ll make sure this next time, there is no doubt.”
Kevin Lee finds new MMA life in the GFL Following the UFC’s latest rejection
Luckily for Lee, there are other options out there. In December, it was announced that the Michigan native had signed with the Global Fight League, a promotion that has been gobbling up talent in preparation for its inaugural event rumored to go down in April.
No announcements have been made regarding Lee, or anyone else’s first appearance with the promotion, but if Lee gets his wish, he’ll get to exact some revenge on the fighter that crushed his momentum eight years ago.
