Kevin Lee is starting all over again after coming back from retirement, but he is willing to restart his career by participating in the Contender Series.
All roads lead to Detriot for Kevin Lee, who will travel down to fight in the Lights Out Championship. This will be the fighter’s first bout near his home city since 2013, and it feels familiar to him.
The fight has been on and off the cage for the past two and went on a brief retirement stint but he came back in 2023. Lee was put to sleep by Rinat Fakhretdinov shortly after his return and took a long hiatus
“It’s only fitting that it ends up back home, back where it all started,” Lee told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I feel like I’m almost restarting my career.”
“As I did that jump and tore my knee a little bit, I had kind of checked out of that (Fakhretdinov) fight,” Lee said. “Not many people are going to notice this, but I even turned my back to my opponent and was mouthing to my brother, ‘I just f*cked my knee up bad.’ Honestly, I just stopped the fight right then and there before it happened. I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be in that fight.”
“As much as I’ve dove into that and as challenging as that is, fighting is still in my heart,” Lee said. “I still love this sh*t. and I still knew after a few months I was going to do this again. I started training heavy, maybe in February. Then I started really training. Then, in June, I started really feeling like, ‘OK, this is the old me again.’ Probably in the last two months, I’ve been feeling like a world champion again.”
Despite debuting at UFC 216 in 2016, Kevin Lee is ready to do what it takes to get back into the UFC. He offered to compete in the Contender Series but was shocked when the tournament didn’t happen.
“I think it [made] sense,” Lee told MMA Fighting. “But I don’t know exactly what the problem is. I honestly don’t know. It’s not the numbers, right? I’ve heard Dana kind of brag about Belal Muhammad when he wrapped the belt around him, and he bragged that he got more views than any other champion — and it was like 20 million views or something. But my brother [former fighter-turned-famous food vlogger Keith Lee] did a small video for me getting ready for my last fight in the APEX, and, keep this in mind, this is a prelim APEX card fight, and my brother did a post. He got 12 million views compared to a champion with 20 million views, and Dana’s bragging about it, so I don’t think that’s the issue.
“I don’t think the issue is me not willing to show up and put on great fights because that’s all I’ve ever done. Honestly I can’t point to what the issue is. I don’t know. But I offered to do that fight. I think it would have been big. And, I think it would have been great for Dana White’s Contender Series, but the offer is off the table at this point. I offered it. They said no, we’ll move on. No sweat off my brow.”
“I did hear that Dana had a problem with me speaking on the Apex for my last fight. Like, ‘Why are we still fighting at the Apex?’ But that’s just how I am,” Lee said. “I’m opinionated. If you ask me a question, I’m going to give you an honest answer. I can’t bite my tongue and act like somebody I’m not just to appease anything. I love the UFC. They built me to who I am. It really built my career, and I’m happy it’s gotten me that far. But if it’s no more, then it’s no more. That’s cool.”
Nevertheless, Kevin Lee is back in action and is set to face Thiago Oliveria at the Lights Out Championship. Two months after this, the fighter will debut at BKFC in Biloxi, where he will battle Saul Almeida.
“Anybody who is a professional fighter knows having that date really sets the training in motion,” Lee explained. “It really kind of gives you a sense of purpose almost. I’ve been fighting for a long, long time, so it’s not like I’m hung up on fighting for the UFC. That’s where I built my career, and I feel like I’ve given a lot to the company. But if that’s not what’s next, then that’s not what’s next. I’ll fight somewhere else.
“I’m going to whoop his ass. and I’m going to show there’s levels to the fight game, and at the end of the day, I’m going to show that I’m back. I’m healthy, and I’m ready to compete at 155 pounds. I know this fight is at 170, but that’s because of the short notice. I’m coming back, I’m ready to compete at 155 pounds, and [show] I can still compete with the best of the 155 pounder.”
