Kevin Lee believes getting on Dana White's bad books cost him Contender Series opportunity but now offer is off the table

Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee wants to recalibrate his career course by competing in the world's premier MMA organization again. For that, he previously claimed that he would be willing to prove his determination by competing in Dana White's Contender Series.

However, Lee shed light on the development of that prospect in an appearance on the Anik & Florian podcast by claiming that the UFC declined his request. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Lee expressed confusion over the situation, stating that he's always been committed to delivering great performances. That being said, he did mention that he might have rubbed UFC CEO Dana White the wrong way due to his "opinionated" nature. Lee said:

"It’s a little crazy to say that at this point in my career given how much I’ve actually done for the company. But I think I’m very opinionated, and I think that may have rubbed Dana the wrong [way] a few times. I made some comments about the APEX, and I guess that may be [something that bothered him]." [H/t: MMA Fighting]

He added:

"But listen, this is what I do. This is part of being me. If people ask me a question, I give them a true and honest answer. And at the same time, I’ve never done anybody wrong in this industry — from media guys to publicists, the PR, and everybody backstage of the UFC, I feel like everybody I’ve touched, I’ve done right. So at the end of the day I hold my head up, we fight this next fight on Saturday."

Check out Kevin Lee's comments below (2:00):

Ahead of his last fight under the UFC banner against Rinat Fakhretdinov, Lee expressed frustration about competing at the UFC Apex rather than in a larger arena with more fans. 'The Motown Phenom' lost the fight by submission in the first round and announced his retirement from the sport shortly after that loss.

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Kevin Lee returns to action after announcing retirement

Kevin Lee made headlines last year when he announced his retirement after a submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov in July 2023.

However, Lee has decided to come out of retirement and is currently scheduled to take on Thiago Oliveira in a welterweight bout on Sept. 28 at Lights Out Championship 17.

He is also slated to fight Saul Almeida on Nov. 15 at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8. Lee holds a 4-6 record in his last ten MMA assignments. His last victory was a unanimous decision effort against Diego Sanchez at Eagle FC 46 in March 2022.