Kevin Lee is excited about his UFC rematch with Rinat Fakhretdinov this weekend, because it gives him more pressure – which he loves, as Lee explained during the UFC Vegas 76 media day this week.
“For me to go up against someone who hasn’t really been heard of — I just learned how to pronounce his name this weekend — it’s like, ‘I really have to pick him,’” Lee (19-7) said, recounting the promotion for the first time since August 2021. “I have to. To step it up. You can’t play with this guy and even show that he’s in the same class as me.”
What Lee wasn’t excited about was fighting in the nearly barren UFC Apex, the private place the promotion was originally built to house. Dana White Rivalry Series And The ultimate fighter. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Apex’s presence has been a stroke of luck for the UFC, which has moved the bulk of its events to the Las Vegas facility.
However, fans and fighters alike are tired of seeing APEX demos announced since most of the world is open for action.
“I hope he’s in front of more fans. I don’t know how many people are going to be at Apex, but it’s kind of stupid,” he told me in regards to his comeback being set in place. “I don’t know what to do. You know what I mean? The epidemic is over. I don’t know if people received the message or if they sent the telegram. But the epidemic is over. I don’t know what we’re still doing here. I understand there is money to be made, but it’s kind of stupid.”
Lee went on to explain that there is “a different energy when thousands and thousands of people are screaming. It’s a different level of feeling. That’s why when I want to fight like Charles Oliveira, I fight again – it’s a different feeling. I wish it would happen, but I’m going to do what I’m doing.” And I’ll go there on Saturday in front of two and three hundred mothers of the rich who want to see me bleed, and we’ll get into it.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 76 media day appearance by Kevin Lee above.