Kevin Lee admits he has something to prove after GFL debacle and not returning to UFC: ‘A lot of people have written me off’

UFC Fight Night: Lee v Fakhretdinov — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Kevin Lee isn’t all that surprised that his return to action in the PFL on Friday is being met with more skepticism than enthusiasm.

At his peak, the now 32-year-old lightweight was a top contender in the UFC, who once battled for the interim lightweight title and scored one of the most vicious knockouts in promotion history when he flatlined Gregor Gillespie with a head kick back in 2019. But that knockout was also his final win in the UFC before injuries, losses and a change in weight class left Lee in purgatory when it came to his career prospects.

Following another long layoff to recover from knee surgery, Lee picked up a win on the regional circuit this past September but now he’s set to make his PFL debut against Gadzhi Rabadanov, who is riding a remarkable 11-fight win streak with three straight knockouts on his resume.

“A lot of people have written me off,” Lee told MMA Fighting. “A lot of people have forgot about me and a lot of people have doubted me so it’s time to shut them up.

“I don’t even really blame people too much for the write off because it’s been five years since I’ve been in this division, the start of the pandemic. For a lot of people the start of the pandemic feels like a lifetime ago. Not only that but this sport has grown so much that there have been so many new fans that have come in since the pandemic that don’t remember 2017, they don’t remember 2018, they don’t remember 2019. It’s time that I make my stamp and remind them who I am.”

In between his latest win and joining the PFL roster, Lee initially campaigned to return to the UFC and he went as far as volunteering to join The Ultimate Fighter reality show if that’s what was needed to prove he was really back to top form.

Ultimately, the UFC didn’t show much interest in bringing Lee back into the fold but he doesn’t hold any ill will towards the promotion for the way things played out. As much as he wanted to go back to the UFC, Lee admits his primary goal was showing that he’s still one of the best lightweights in the world and his debut in the PFL grants him that same kind of opportunity.

“No [I’m not disappointed], because this is the way things were supposed to happen,” Lee said. “More than anything, I wanted to fight and prove myself as a top lightweight again. I got a guy who is one of the top lightweights right now. The best fighters aren’t always in the UFC. I think we’ve seen that over time. You see it with Strikeforce, you saw it with WEC back in the day, you saw it with PRIDE, you saw it with all these big promotions and a couple guys from PFL are going over and doing great things.

“To me it’s about the actual fight itself. This guy is a top lightweight. I haven’t fought at lightweight in over five years and this is a chance for me to prove I’m back up there. It don’t necessarily have to be with no specific promotion. I just wanted the right fight at the right time and that’s the way things played out.”

While there’s no bad blood with the UFC, Lee is definitely holding a grudge against the Global Fight League after he signed there in free agency with promises of big paydays and an active schedule.

After waiting months for the promotion to launch, Lee was initially scheduled to compete at the debut event but then the GFL suddenly cancelled the shows and there’s little hope that the organization ever gets off the ground.

Lee previously hinted at a potential lawsuit being filed against the GFL and he’s definitely still angry about how that whole disaster played out.

“I’ve been begging for a fight for over a year now,” Lee said. “My knee has been healthy for at least the last six months. I’ve been ready to fight. The GFL thing was a crazy debacle. I’ve been with them for six months now, I gave them six months of my life for me to sit on the sidelines. It wasn’t something I was really interested in. Before I even signed with them, I tried to do everything in my power to make sure that they understood that and that wasn’t going to happen. That I wasn’t going to just give up six months of my career.

“Sometimes these things don’t really happen, especially in MMA. These others promotions and other promoters don’t necessarily know what they’re doing. They don’t necessarily make the right choices all the time and that’s what happened.”

Lee did his best to take everything in stride and then he got the chance to attend a PFL card where Rabadanov was competing. Watching the Russian tear through a UFC veteran in just 32 seconds immediately caught Lee’s interest and he told PFL officials that night he would be interested in potentially facing Rabadanov in the future.

An injury to Jay-Jay Wilson, who was originally scheduled to face Rabadanov, then opened the door for Lee to sign with the PFL and get the fight he always wanted.

“I went to the PFL when they did the first round of the lightweights in Orlando — the only guy who interested me was Gadzhi,” Lee said. “He knocked out Marc Diakiese real quick, showed a lot of speed, a lot of power, good accuracy. He was the only lightweight on there to really interest me.

“So I told them I would be interested in joining the organization and especially for a fight like that. Lo and behold like three weeks later, this guy gets hurts and they call me right away and I say yes. I don’t hesitate, no nothing. It’s what I wanted. It’s what I’m looking for and it’s time to rock and roll.”

Kevin Lee admits he has something to prove after GFL debacle and not returning to UFC: ‘A lot of people have written me off’

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