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“It’s not going to happen. I’ll be real. It’s not going to happen. They’re not going to let me within 10 feet of that man, but these are the things that I kind of see.”
Kevin Lee returned to top form at UFC 244, and the former interim lightweight title challenger would ideally like to welcome Conor McGregor back to the Octagon in his next bout.
With that said Lee, who sprang back into the winners column with a highlight reel head kick knockout of Gregor Gillespie, knows neither Conor McGregor nor the UFC will be interested in the match-up.
Speaking to MMA Fighting in a recent interview, ‘The Motown Phenom’ said the UFC won’t let him ‘within 10 feet’ of McGregor because they know he would be a terrible match-up for ‘The Notorious’.
“They’re still trying to find an opponent for Conor McGregor on Jan. 18,” Lee said. “I know they’re talking about “Cowboy” [Donald Cerrone], but there’s no contract signed there. If he’s a little bit like me, if he’s a competitor at his heart, then he’s going to want to take on the tough wrestler. He should if he wants to get back to Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and really wants to get back into title contention. That fight would make sense.
“It’s not going to happen. I’ll be real. It’s not going to happen. They’re not going to let me within 10 feet of that man, but these are the things that I kind of see.”
With McGregor likely out of the equation, Lee proposed alternative bouts with Paul Felder, Justin Gaethje and Antony Pettis.
“A fight here in Vegas, me and [Paul] Felder, me and [Justin] Gaethje, me and [Anthony] Pettis,” Lee said. “Somebody who’s going to have to have some skill and put on a good fight to move me closer to that title.”
Lee (18-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is currently ranked #8 in the official UFC lightweight rankings.