Gadzhi Rabadanov is now one win away from back-to-back tournament titles with the PFL after defeating Kevin Lee in the semifinals of the lightweight PFL Tournament in the main event of PFL Wichita.
Rabadanov dropped Lee early with a stiff jab, and from there, he didn’t let up. Rabadanov rocked Lee multiple times with his strikes, scoring another knockdown during the round.
Lee tried to stay in it, but a relentless barrage eventually resulted in a faceplant knockdown, forcing the ref to wave it off.
Gadzhi Rabadanov Reaches PFL World Tournament Final, KOs Kevin Lee At PFL Wichita
Don't want to take away from Rabadanov, but Kevin Lee is beyond washed #PFLWorldTournament
— Bruno Massami (Бруно Массами) (@BrMassami) June 21, 2025
Alfie Davis had a great win earlier tonight but I just don’t know his chances against Gadzhi Rabadanov.
He’s almost guaranteed to go back-to-back at this point, one of the PFL’s very best fighters.#PFLWorldTournament
— In The Corner Podcast (@InTheCorner_Pod) June 21, 2025
Kevin Lee joining PFL and immediately thrown into the semifinals of the lightweight tournament and just to get ko’d by Gadzhi Rabadanov is very Kevin Lee
Last year, Rabadanov ran through Solomon Renfro, Elvin Espinoza, Michael Dufort and Brent Primus to capture the 2024 PFL lightweight championship. He earned tonight’s semifinal spot with a first-round finish of Marc Diakiese in April.
Lee made his PFL debut tonight, replacing an injured Jay-Jay Wilson. Lee had made his return to MMA after more than a year away this past September, scoring a first-round finish of Thiago Oliveira at Lights Out Championship 17.
Former UFC star Kevin Lee has said that facing a dangerous opponent is what brings out the best in him.
As we know, Kevin Lee was once considered to be the next big thing at 155 pounds in mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, he was never quite able to live up to his potential in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Even after re-signing, he lost pretty quickly in his return fight, and he even retired at one point.
Now, at the age of 32, Kevin Lee is hoping that he can finally prove himself – this time under the PFL umbrella. He’s set to face Gadzhi Rabadanov tonight and ahead of the fight, he spoke candidly about his excitement for this contest.
Kevin Lee looks ahead to MMA return
“This is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not saying give me a warm-up fight, give me an alternate fight—I’m jumping in there against one of the most dangerous lightweights on planet Earth. That’s the thing that excites me. The fights where I’m most scared, those are the fights where I really turn up and I really show my best. I like fights where I’m a little bit scared, a little bit nervous getting in there.
“I don’t know how fast this guy is, I don’t know how hard he hits. He obviously has a tremendous left hook that he’s hit a lot of people with. But the good thing is, I’ve got a lot of years left on my body and in this game, so there’s still a big future ahead, and I’m excited to go out there and show that.”
Former UFC lightweight Kevin Lee’s preparation for his return to action this year recently took a painful turn in the form of a full-power right hand from a sparring partner.
Lee, who unsuccessfully challenged for interim gold in the UFC back in 2017, has struggled in recent years. He’s won just two fights since 2019, both of which came away from the Octagon.
As a result, Lee has sought a different opportunity, and that landed him in the inaugural Global Fight League draft last month. The 32-year-old was picked by New York City, joining Sidney Outlaw as the team’s two lightweights.
With that, “The Motown Phenom” is putting the work in at Kill Cliff FC in Florida ahead of his new venture. But it would seem that not everything has been going to plan for the veteran fighter on the mats.
Footage emerged this week showing Lee suffer a bad knockdown in training. After throwing a flying knee, the ex-UFC fighter’s sparring partner landed a full-strength right hand that briefly put the Michigan native down.
Overseeing the session was former UFC champion Robbie Lawler, who sported a concerned face as he helped an unsteady Lee back to his feet.
The video was recorded and posted to Instagram by undefeated Azerbaijani fighter Maggeram Gasanzade.
It’s believed the punch was thrown by Mirali Huseynov, another Azerbaijani athlete who has a 9-3 record as a professional. His last two wins have come under the banner of Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat. Huseynov appeared in the comments section of a repost to request the video be taken down.
The clip drew plenty of reactions online, with the community surprisingly split on who was to blame. While many slammed Huseynov for throwing at full capacity, others criticized Lee for the flying knee attempt.
Homie didn’t have to hit him like that lol but keep those hands up on the flying knee and that doesn’t happen https://t.co/Dzptlw3iuG
That shit is stupid all around. Lee is stupid for throwing that flying knee, and the other brother is stupid for putting that much behind a punch when y'all are just sparring. This is really where these mfs be takin all the damage in their careers from and for no reason lol 😂 https://t.co/T3O4rDX4a5
Kevin Lee was eager for another opportunity to compete in the UFC, where he fought from 2014 to 2021. The lightweight gained prominence in 2017 when he challenged Tony Ferguson for the interim title but fell short.
In 2021, Lee was released from the UFC. He returned briefly in 2023, but his comeback ended in a quick and brutal submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Lee revealed that he offered to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series for a modest $5,000, but his proposal was rejected.
“I really want to compete. For me, money isn’t necessarily the biggest issue; I said I’d take that fight for $5K on (Dana White’s) Contender Series against the best contender they got,” Lee said. “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.”
Lee also shared his frustration with the UFC’s lack of interest.
“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. I feel like I’m professional, I do what I need to do, and I don’t rub too many people the wrong way.”
Despite the setback, Lee remains determined to prove his worth.
“Why they didn’t want me to go on (Dana White’s) 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.”
Lee’s resilience underscores his commitment to competing at the highest level, leaving fans to wonder if another UFC opportunity may still be on the horizon.
The Global Fight League, or GFL, have announced a huge amount of names who will be eligible for the promotion’s upcoming draft this month. GFL is set to host its first event around April where the team-based season format will kick off once fighters have been selected by their chosen teams.
Many of the names on the current roster, particularly on the men’s side, are former UFC fighters who will add a certain amount of name value to the promotion from the very start. Amongst them is former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee who recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show to go into more detail about the promotion and his initial impressions of working with them.
Lee spoke during the interview about other names that could be joining him in the promotion who could be potential opponents for him at some stage. He specifically mentioned a former opponent of his who has been on a difficult run inside the Octagon as of late.
One of the criticisms of the GFL thus far has been the amount of fighters on the roster who are perceived to be over the hill or in some cases, already at the end of their careers. That would also be the narrative surrounding Tony Ferguson whose name still carries a degree of weight despite the fact that he has lost his last eight fights in a row which is a record for the MMA leader.
It appeared following his last defeat against Michael Chiesa that “El Cucuy” had one foot in retirement after he took off one of his gloves inside the cage before he later confirmed that he isn’t done yet. During his losing streak, Dana White has repeatedly made it clear that he hopes Ferguson retires with his 41st birthday being just around the corner.
However, according to what Lee has heard, it looks like Ferguson could be beginning a new chapter rather than closing the book for good.
“I’ve heard a couple of names tossed around, the one that interests me the most is Tony Ferguson,” Lee told Helwani. “He’s had his ups and downs in his career but we’ve had a great fight for the UFC championship and I think that’s something that a lot of people can get behind and that’s a fight that I really, really want. He’s in talks with them.”
"I've heard a couple of names tossed around. The one that interests me the most is Tony Ferguson… That's a fight that I really, really want." – @MoTownPhenom
Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is looking to find somewhere that he can truly call home, for the foreseeable future.
“Motown Phenom” has been a bit of a gun for hire as of late and after his UFC return didn’t pan out the way he hoped it would, Lee is exploring some new options.
On November 15, he’s set to debut on Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA when he faces off against Saul Almeida.
Lee doesn’t see this as a quick stop-gap before signing for another MMA promotion and in fact, believes that he can raise the profile of the sport.
Kevin Lee Believes That He Can Elevate Bare Knuckle MMA Like Mike Perry Has With BKFC
Lee is confident that with his fighting style, he will be very effective when competing in bare-knuckle MMA.
His heavy wrestling style should allow him to negate a lot of the damage that would usually come with competing without the gloves on.
He said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting that he not only believes that this switch will suit him, Lee thinks he can elevate the sport as a result of his success.
The 32-year-old made reference to the impact that Mike Perry has had in bare-knuckle boxing since departing the UFC, going on to become the face of BKFC.
“I’m curious to see how I’m gonna pan out. You see guys like Mike Perry really take bare knuckle boxing and take it to a different level because it fit his style really well. I think that bare knuckle MMA, for me, could be that thing that does that or I could be that guy for bare knuckle MMA. You know, I got great kicks, I got great wrestling and I got great top pressure and all of that kind of blends to bare knuckle the best.”
Two days ago, Kevin Lee successfully made weight and defeated Diego Sanchez at Eagle FC 46 in a 165 lbs. catchweight bout. Two years ago, Sanchez blasted Lee for missing weight ahead of his bout against Charles Oliveira. Oliveira would go on to get the victory anyway, but not before Sanchez gave Lee a piece of his mind.
The following article was published on this day two years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2020, 7:33 PM]
Headline: Diego Sanchez Goes On Rant After Kevin Lee Misses Weight For UFC Brasilia
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Diego Sanchez is not happy that IV use is banned for weight cuts under USADA.
Ever since the UFC introduced USADA for its anti-doping measures, it has made an impact. Whether you like it or hate it, USADA is here to stay and has been since 2015. While some have praised USADA for keeping fighters clean, others have bashed the agency for being inconsistent with punishments as it pertains to victims of tainted supplements.
Diego Sanchez Blasts USADA’s IV Ban
Another result of USADA being put in place by the UFC is the ban on IV’s for weight cutting. After Kevin Lee missed weight once again for UFC Brasilia, Sanchez posted a rant on Instagram on how the IV ban has negatively affected fighters.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rux5gJfse/
“Another main event misses weight and he will win.. I have been saying it for years weight cutting is bullsh*t it’s bad for the fighters health! Why no change? Why no hydration tests? If your going to allow weight cutting then you should definitely allow IV’s it’s impossible to rehydrate adequately! Therefore creating a unfair place for competition where some guys don’t give a f*ck and use IV’s anyway.”
Weight cutting has been an issue in the world of combat sports for years and it’s unlikely that a universal solution will come anytime soon. Promotions such as ONE Championship have tried to mitigate the issue by ensuring that drastic weight fluctuations are banned and will result in an automatic bout cancelation. There are still measures in place to negotiate a catchweight if a fighter is hydrated but has failed to make the limit by half a pound. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has praised the system put in place by ONE Championship.
Whether or not the UFC ever utilizes such a system remains to be seen. While ONE’s main goal when it comes to weigh-cutting has been to eliminate dehydration, it’s still an issue for most other MMA promotions.
And like every other fighter in any promotion, with a loss comes criticism and hate from the public.
It is a cold world. Trolls on social media tried to tear him down after every defeat. So Kevin Lee may know, through experience, how Joe Rogan feels at the moment.
Following accusations of spreading COVID-19 misinformation on his podcast and videos showing him using racially insensitive language, many have called for The Joe Rogan Experience to be shut down and taken off of Spotify.
In Rogan’s defense, he claims his words were taken out of context. Kevin Lee admits to having a similar experience because social media has also misconstrued his words in the past as well.
“Sometimes I hate being on social media. Sometimes I hate communicating with people because it can always be taken out of context. So it’s like, maybe I should just do actions and not say anything. Even though that’s not where we want to be either. You got a voice, it’s worth something. It’s not always worth something bad, especially if you don’t have no ill intention behind it,” Lee explained in an interview with Middle Easy.
No matter how much Joe Rogan apologizes for certain behaviors, it seems much of the public cannot be pleased. And Kevin Lee, among others, has spoken out in his defense.
Lee blames the “culture” for the negative spotlight on Rogan.
“One daymaybe we’ll figure out a way to solve these types of issues. But one thing we can’t do is turn our back on each other, even when you do like make little mistakes or slip up. That comes in everybody’s life. At some point, I’m going to say some dumb sh*t. I have said some dumb sh*t. It’s real easy for people to write people off. I think that’s just a f*cked up way to be. It’s just a f*cked up culture,” Lee continued to say.
“Cancel culture” has taken aim at the careers of many. One prime example is Gina Carrano, who claims she was ‘canceled’ when she was removed from LucasFilm after using social media to voice some of her political opinions.
Many UFC fans missed Joe Rogan at UFC 271. And according to Dana White, he could have been there.
The absence produced many questions and sparked a debate: Was it because of scheduling conflicts, or is the recent controversy at fault?
What are your thoughts on Kevin Lee’s opinion of the Joe Rogan controversy?
Former UFC interim title challenger Kevin Lee doesn’t think his release from the top MMA promotion was about his performance alone.
Lee is set to make his Eagle FC debut at EFC 46 on March 11 against another former UFC standout, Diego Sanchez. Lee was let go by the UFC last year following a one-sided loss to Daniel Rodriguez at welterweight.
Lee is managed by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is the same firm that manages UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The UFC and Ngannou have gone back-and-forth for months regarding negotiations for a new contract.
The relationship between CAA manager Marquel Martin and UFC president Dana White has been tense, to say the least. White has repeatedly taken shots at him in various interviews.
Lee’s release from the UFC was a surprise to many. During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Lee reflected on his UFC release and whether or not it caught him off guard.
“To say I was surprised – no, not really,” Lee said. “I know the back end and all the stuff that goes behind closed doors. They really showed me no respect toward the end. I feel like I ate a lot of the flak for guys like Francis Ngannou in his situation with them. They used me as kind of like a pawn and a scapegoat. And really, I hope other fighters kind of see that. That’s what they do to you.
“They didn’t like the way negotiations was handled with Francis, so they took it out on me to kind of show (CAA) a lesson. But I think in the end, we’re going to show that you can’t necessarily treat people like this, and there’s many other ways to make money and kind of outshine them. So we’re going to beat them one way or the other.”
Ngannou most recently defended his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. He’s expected to undergo surgery on a knee injury he suffered leading up to the fight.
At 29 years old, Lee still has the opportunity to live up to the massive expectations bestowed upon him just a few years ago. As he gets ready to make his EFC debut, he’s looking to prove that the UFC’s decision to cut him was a massive mistake.
Do you think Kevin Lee could eventually work his way back to the UFC?
New Eagle FC signing Kevin Lee hopes to one day have the opportunity to exact revenge on UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira.
The pair met in the main event of a Brazil-held UFC Fight Night in March 2020. It was the final card before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the UFC to shut down for a number of weeks.
Heading into the clash, Lee was riding high off the back of a memorable knockout of Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 four months prior. Oliveira, meanwhile, carried a six-fight win streak into the headline bout.
While he didn’t have the support of a home crowd behind him, Oliveira secured a submission victory that would have had the fans on their feet inside the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, had it not been empty.
After that fight, Oliveira went on to dominate Tony Ferguson and win the vacant lightweight gold with a TKO victory over Michael Chandler soon after. Last month he defended the title against Dustin Poirier, whom many considered to be the best lightweight on the plant, cementing his spot on the 155-pound throne.
While he’ll be focusing on returning to form when he debuts for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion this year, Lee still has one eye on the past. During an appearance on The Schmozone Podcast, “The Motown Phenom” admitted he wants to get his loss to Oliveira back.
“There’s a lot of things surrounding that fight. I want that fight back. We’ll see. We’ll make that happen in the future, at some point. I gotta prove I’m the best at ’65 first. And then, at some point, maybe we make that fight.”
Discussing what he’d have changed leading up to his defeat to “Do Bronx,” Lee suggested he should have taken more time after his KO win against Gillespie. According to the former interim title challenger, he was “talked” into returning so soon.
“(I’d have) took more time. Took more time, for sure. After I fought Gillespie, I needed some time off. I needed some time to let it sink in. Instead, I just rode the wave, and I was talked into riding the wave and going into the next fight.”
Lee went on to describe what went wrong prior to UFC Brasilia. As well as the quick turnaround, the 28-year-old cited his first winter in Canada at the Tristar gym, travel, and the fact he underestimated Oliveira as reasons behind the devastating loss.
“That moment (the Gillespie KO) was so big, that I knew I had to let it sink in. It was my first real camp with Firas (Zahabi). So I felt like we learned a lot about each other. I was just trying to get my feet underneath me in Canada and in Montreal, but then I had to go back home to kinda handle some stuff here in Vegas. Then I took that fight and it was right back into it. It was right back to Canada, in the middle of winter; it had been six or seven years since I had dealt with the winter. That’s another layer on top of it.
“It was a lot to deal with. On top of that, they flew me to Brazil on one day, and then back; all this happened within a five-week span of getting ready to fight someone like Oliveira. I think part of it was I underestimated Oliveira until mid-way through the second round. Then I was like, ‘This dude’s legit, fuck.’”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgsHVpJkL5/
If he’s to make his way back to a clash with the reigning 155-pound UFC titleholder, Lee will have to make a splash in the rising Eagle FC promotion. Having finally been given the chance to show his talents at 165 pounds, “The Motown Phenom” must prove his claim to be the best at that weight to be true.
If he can find success in the coming months and years, starting with his likely debut against Diego Sanchez in March, perhaps we’ll see Lee get the chance for redemption against Oliveira before his career is done.
How do you think Kevin Lee would fare in a rematch against UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira?
Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee wasn’t ready for the spotlight that came with his fight against Tony Ferguson.
Lee was recently released by the UFC in a stunning move by the promotion. Despite losses in four of his last five fights, he had faced stiff competition, including Charles Oliveira and Rafael dos Anjos.
Lee’s first true taste of free agency didn’t last long, as he opted to sign with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion. It was arguably the biggest signing by a mid-tier promotion in 2021.
Lee was once thought of as one of the top lightweight prospects in the world, leading up to his loss to Ferguson at UFC 216. He had risen to the top of the lightweight division with wins in nine of his previous ten bouts.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Lee was blatantly honest when discussing if he would’ve done anything different during his UFC tenure.
“I’m not gonna say I would do it differently because I don’t regret anything. I might have done some stuff better though,” Lee said. “When I first made like, the big push, when you see me do the Michael Chiesa thing. I didn’t know that that was gonna happen, no regrets, no regrets. But even afterwards, the calling out Tony Ferguson, and getting that fight way too soon, way before I was supposed to get that fight.
Tony Ferguson (left) and Kevin Lee (right)Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
“Sometimes I regret it, I’m not gonna lie to you. Sometimes I regret having that overriding confidence to do something you know you shouldn’t do. I knew I wasn’t ready for Tony, at the time I took that fight. I just was like, ‘Alright, we gonna do it. Gonna put my balls out there and we’re gonna see what it is.’ My balls was bigger than my brain.”
Lee has previously discussed just how brutal the buildup was to his fight with Ferguson. He’s mentioned that the weight-cutting process for the interim title bout made him delirious and physically depleted as he cut down to the 155-pound limit.
Lee is slated to make his Eagle FC debut against Diego Sanchez in March in a 165-pound matchup. It’ll be his prime opportunity to get back on track after recent struggles in the UFC.
Do you think Kevin Lee will ever eventually return to the UFC?
While many have touted UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev as a future champion, former interim title challenger Kevin Lee isn’t convinced.
Chimaev burst onto the scene in 2020, and despite a brief pause in his rise, “Borz” is well and truly back on the welterweight agenda.
The Chechen-born Swede made his initial splash on Fight Island with two wins in the space of 10 days, a modern UFC record. He added a third to his tally two months later when he knocked out middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert on his US debut. For the next year, Chimaev was forced to the sidelines by a troubling case of COVID-19.
Now ranked just outside the top 10 in the welterweight rankings, many are expecting Chimaev to secure a title shot with one or two more impressive victories. And despite the dominance of Kamaru Usman, “Borz” is being tipped by some as the man who can dethrone “The Nigerian Nightmare.”
One fighter who doesn’t share that sentiment is Kevin Lee. The former UFC Welterweight, who recently signed for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion, hasn’t boarded the Chimaev hype train and is not impressed by the up-and-comer. According to “The Motown Phenom,” Chimaev is yet to do anything special.
“I think he’s just getting a lot of buzz,” Lee said during an appearance on The Schmozone podcast. “People see him beat Li Jingliang and all of a sudden he’s like, the new God or something. I’ve been in the gyms with both these guys, so he’s alright. But he’s alright, you know. He’s not doing nothing that’s like crazy or anything. Honestly, he doesn’t really impress me too much. He’s just aggressive.”
Lee, who fell short of interim lightweight gold against Tony Ferguson in 2017, will be looking to pursue title glory elsewhere after seven years in the UFC. Chimaev, meanwhile, will be looking to achieve more success on MMA’s biggest stage than “The Motown Phenom” ultimately managed to.
Do you agree with Kevin Lee or are you aboard the Khamzat Chimaev hype train?
Fast-forward to Christmas weekend and multiple sources have now confirmed that Lee will debut in the promotion against the original Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez. Like Lee, Sanchez will also be competing for the first time since his UFC release. This bout will be contested at 165 lbs.
Between the two of them, these competitors are 0-3 in their last three fights. In Lee’s case, he is 1-4 out of his last five, with losses to Al Iaquinta; Rafael dos Anjos; reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira; and most recently, Daniel Rodriguez. Prior to these struggles, Lee once put himself in a position to challenge for the UFC interim lightweight championship and strung together five consecutive UFC victories at one point.
Diego Sanchez made headlines this year for his tumultuous split first from the UFC and then from his mentor and trainer Joshua Fabia. There were talks of Sanchez potentially joining Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, but now we have learned that “The Nightmare” has decided to take his talents to the Eagle FC instead. This news comes after Sanchez’s recent health scare in his battle against COVID-19. He most recently competed in September 2020 in a loss to Jake Matthews.
MMA News will bring you full coverage of this March 11 Eagle FC card as well as any relevant updates in connection to this bout.
What do you think of the matchmaking of Kevin Lee being paired against Diego Sanchez?
Kevin Lee’s four-fight contract with Eagle FC will be paid to him exclusively through cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
After being paid in money during his long UFC career, Lee will be taking a unique route to kick off his partnership with Eagle FC.
Lee’s deal with Eagle FC was first announced Wednesday. His signing came just more than a week after his UFC career had an abrupt end. The promotion reportedly cut him from their roster in late November, ending an 18-fight run in the Octagon.
Lee described his new deal as a lucrative first in the sport.
“To be the first MMA fighter who has a deal worth millions of dollars in Bitcoin, the first one, there was some appeal to that for me,” said Lee in an interview on The MMA Hour.
Lee: Bitcoin Saved Me Before
Kevin Lee (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lee’s interest in cryptocurrency is in part due to how it has helped him before. Lee described in his interview how an investment he made into Bitcoin four years ago allowed him to make money while he was dealing with injuries last year.
“After my fight with Tony [Ferguson], I invested in Bitcoin all the way back then. Honestly, when I had the knee surgeries, it saved my a**. Because I forgot about that money, but then when Bitcoin blew back up, that gave me some money to live off of. So it’s something that I really believe in and that’s honestly gonna be the big future.”
Lee’s new contract is part of a slowly growing trend seen around sports. NFL player Sean Culkin announced earlier this year that he will have a contract that is exclusively paid in Bitcoin. He is the first fighter in NFL’s history to do so.
Jorge Masvidal’s bare-knuckle MMA promotion Gamebred Fighting Championship has utilized cryptocurrency in the past, using it to hand out performance bonuses after events.
Do you expect more fighters to ask for cryptocurrency-based contracts in the future?
As initially reported by MMA Fighting on Wednesday, Kevin Lee has signed with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion following his UFC release last month. Eagle FC will also create a 165-lb division, something Lee had lobbied for throughout his UFC run. The 29-year-old went 11-7 in the UFC and currently has a professional record of 18-7.
Kevin Lee and Khabib Nurmagomedov have a one-sided history of Lee calling out Khabib for a fight for years. In a true case of irony, Lee will ultimately fight for Khabib instead of against him. Lee currently does not have an Eagle FC debut date or opponent set at this time.
Lee made his UFC in 2014. After losing his debut to Al Iaquinta, Lee strung together four consecutive victories before his next defeat to Leonardo Santo at UFC 194.
Kevin Lee vs. Francisco Trinaldo. Image Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
After this loss, Lee would win his next five fights, including two Performance of the Night bonuses for his rear-naked choke victories over Magomed Mustafaev in 2016 and Michael Chiesa in 2017. The victory over Chiesa was Lee’s first main event in the promotion.
Lee would go 2-5 in his next seven bouts, including a 2017 loss to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title fight and another loss to Al Iaquinta, losing his welterweight debut to Rafael dos Anjos, and most recently losing to Daniel Rodriguez back in August.
What are your thoughts on Kevin Lee’s decision to sign with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion?
An emotional Kevin Lee has opened up and shared his thoughts following his UFC release.
Yesterday, news of Kevin Lee’s UFC release was made public. This marked the end of a seven-year UFC run for the 29-year-old, which included six main events. Lee’s promotional record was 11-7.
Lee revealed that he learned about his release through an e-mail from an office clerk, which he described to be the worst part of finding out the news. The former UFC vet stated he would have liked to have received “proper notice” or a simple phone call.
After seven years in the promotion, several main events, and the willingness to face all comers, Lee felt he was deserving of a little more respect.
“Again, that’s the main thing that pisses me off about this. When you’re in the UFC, that’s really all you fighting for is your respect,” Lee said on The MMA Hour. “People respect you for being a UFC fighter. When they hear the name, they automatically give you some respect.
Kevin Lee
“We’re not doing it (for) the money, it ain’t a whole lot of fame in this shit, so it’s like, OK, I’ve done all this shit for y’all and put my body on the line, just to end up with an alcohol problem and some tax problems. And at the end of the day, you take my respect away from me, too?”
The lone conversation Lee had with a UFC official after his release was with Executive Vice President Hunter Campbell. Even then, it was Lee who reached out to Campbell. In the end, Lee exited the conversation with no more answers than he entered with.
“He fed me some shit, like, ‘You go beat a champion in another organization’ and I could make a whole lot more money outside the UFC. I think that they understand that, too. That’s definitely the truth. I could make a whole lot more money being a free agent. So he kinda told me what I already knew…I kinda cut him because he wasn’t really telling me what was the real reason, what’s really going on. So yeah, I kinda cut him off.”
Kevin Lee Doubtful Of UFC Return, Optimistic About The Future
Image Credit: Patrick Smith/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
With the emotions still fresh, Kevin Lee expressed doubt that he would ever return to the UFC again. Not because he wouldn’t necessarily be welcomed back, but because he may not be willing to return after the way his release was handled.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not gonna lie. I’m a little still emotional right now. So obviously, I’m pissed,” Lee said. “A lot of people telling me not to bash ’em and keep the bridge open, right? ‘OK, yeah, you can come back at some point.’
“Honestly, I don’t really want to. Why would I wanna work for somebody who is gonna disrespect me like that? It’s crazy. That’s the only thing we fight for in this game. So my only goal and objective right now is to show that they just made one of the worst mistakes that they did. And I’ll be a millionaire within a year, so that’s pretty fun.”
As Kevin Lee prepares to embark on free agency, he does not exit the promotion he’s called home for seven years with only these fresh scars. He is also grateful for his time in the promotion and the growth his brand has experienced under the UFC umbrella.
“I’ve had top-billing spots with the UFC, about eight main events, so that’s a lot of millions put towards marketing. So I’m gonna leverage that now. So there is a part of me that does want to thank the UFC for all that, you know? They made me famous in the game, at least. Anybody who understands even a little bit of MMA knows who I am, so it’s now time for me to leverage that and really make money with these other promotions.”
What do you think the future holds for “The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee?
