“They Don’t Necessarily Want You to Say Certain Things”: Weeks After Retiring From the UFC, Kevin Lee Opens Up on His Turbulent Relationship With Dana White

Dana White often ends up at odds with UFC fighters and there are instances when White finds it hard to accept a fighter’s demand. The recently retired fighter Kevin Lee seems to have had one such relationship with the UFC president. The 30-year-old decided to retire from the sport with a record of nineteen victories and eight losses. He fought seven bouts under UFC after he joined the promotion back in 2014. 

‘The Motown Phenom’s fighting career became turbulent after fighting Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight championship. Back then, many believed that Lee had the potential to be a UFC champion. However, he lost the bout against Ferguson via submission in the third round. Lee failed to find consistency after his defeat against Ferguson. Recently, when Lee talked about his relationship with the UFC boss, he mentioned how the promotion tried to silence him at certain points.

Kevin Lee talks about his relationship with Dana White

Kevin Lee was recently talking in an interview with Submission Radio. During the conversation, Lee talked about his 12-year-long fighting career, his retirement, and his future plans. When the interviewer asked about ‘The Motown Phenom’s relationship with the UFC boss, he first fell short of words. Later, Lee said, “Me and Dana have a very hot and cold type of relationship. We have a very. It’s a lot of push and pull there you know. I didn’t talk to him before, but we will have a conversation pretty soon.“

Talking further on the matter, Lee said, “Yeah, I don’t want to comment too much on that… They get pi**ed at me for saying certain things. I’m going to try to give the clearest honest answers I can, especially when someone asks me a question, during media or whatever. And honestly they don’t like it too much. I think they don’t necessarily want you to say certain things.”

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He added, “I have been kind of told, hush-hush, about certain things.” From Lee’s words, it is clear that he and Dana White did not always share a cordial relationship. Similarly, the 30-year-old’s career was not all smooth sailing either.

‘The Motown Phenom’s UFC journey

After losing the interim lightweight championship bout, Lee came back to fight Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 128. He was able to win against Barboza by technical knockout. Following the victory, Lee’s UFC fighting career began to crumple down. He later lost five out of the six bouts he fought in the UFC.

After losing against Daniel Rodriguez in August 2021, the UFC released him from the promotion. Later, he came back to the UFC on July 1, 2023, to fight Rinat Fakhretdinov.

However, he lost the bout via submission within 55 seconds into the first round. Later, he took to his social media handle to announce his retirement from MMA and the UFC.

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