The drama surrounding the post-fight melee that occurred last Saturday night (Oct. 6, 2018) at UFC 229 is still unfolding after Khabib Nurmagomedov leaped over the Octagon shortly after submitting Conor McGregor to start another fight with the Irishman’s corner.
While the incident caught most people by surprise, bulletproof-wearing Kevin Lee, for one, wasn’t too shocked, as he revealed during an interview on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show that he left the event shortly after the opening fight of the main card to avoid being caught up in a dangerous situation.
“I was there for the prelims and did a little bit of breakdown. But then I left right after. I kind of already knew where that was going to end up going,” said Lee. “Me, I roll everywhere in Vegas solo, it was already putting me on edge about it, so I showed up and did the whole day with a bulletproof vest and people were asking me why. But I left right after the Michelle Waterson fight.”
“The Motown Phenom” wasn’t kidding:
When asked if vest was actually bulletproof and if he really feared the worst, he had this to say.
“It was half fashion, half satire, but a lot of people took pictures and was getting on me about it. I didn’t necessarily know a brawl would break out, I just know that dealing with them Russians, they are so butthurt, they are so emotional, sensitive, I didn’t know what was going to happen. So, dealing with those guys you never really know anything,” he confessed.
“They are a bunch of weak-minded individuals to me, so I don’t really like being around them to be honest. As soon as I was able to get up out of there, I did. I went home, watched the fight around my team anyway and we got to sit back and really analyze it and I feel like it came out better.”
As for the fight itself (see it here), Lee wasn’t overly-impressed with either man, saying an “arrogant” Conor seemed to fall out of love with the game during the actual fight, while Khabib simply took advantage of a man with no wrestling skills unable to match him in the grappling department.
Something Lee says won’t be the case if he ever gets his chance to face “The Eagle,” a fight he’s been pining for since 2016.
As for what may be more realistic for his own comeback fight, Kevin says a rematch against Al Iaquinta at the upcoming UFC on FOX 31 event on December 15, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin could be in order.