Emerging lightweight contender Kevin Lee won’t be watching this upcoming Ultimate Fighter season with coaches Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje.
While all three men call 155 pounds home, Lee was critical of the choice to have Alvarez and Gaethje coach against each other, as he perceives the two to be less than charismatic when it comes to screen time.
Lee voiced his disdain for the coaching choice this week as they begin filming the 26th season.
“I think if you even ask anybody in the UFC, and they say (me vs. Gaethje) is the better fight to make,” Lee said according to MMAjunkie. “That’s the better TV. If they really wanted to push ‘TUF,’ I think that would’ve been the better option, and I think if you ask anybody in the know, they would’ve said the same thing.”
“You’ve got Eddie, and you’ve got Gaethje, who are both brain dead. They’re going to go in there, they’re going to talk, and they’re going to slur some words at each other. Nobody is going to watch it. It’s going to be terrible. I feel sorry for the women on the show, because they’re not going to get as many eyeballs.”
Lee ran through Michael Chiesa last month and has emerged as a fringe lightweight contender ever since.
Meanwhile, Gaethje made his UFC debut after amassing a perfect 19-0 record in WSOF and engaged in a potential fight of the year candidate against Michael Johnson, who he eventually finished with strikes.
Season 26 will can feature women’s flyweights, and will crown a 125-pound champ in the season finale.
But Lee (16-2) remains disgruntled with the choice in coaches.
“If Gaethje beats me, you say, ‘Oh, he beats a smart fighter,’” Lee said. “If he knocks Eddie out in the first round, the story line will be that Eddie’s done. The story line won’t be that Gaethje’s a great fighter.”
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