Kevin Lee Advises Emerging UFC Fighters To ‘Cherry Pick’ Matchups

Kevin Lee’s time with the UFC met its end when he was released by the promotion earlier this week.

After his dismissal from the promotion, Lee talked on The MMA Hour and revealed some grave realities while he was there with the promotion and advised the upcoming fighters to take their every step cautiously.

“Don’t take these tough fights. I ain’t going to lie to you, don’t do it. Cherry-pick. That’s what they really want to see. They say they want somebody to step up and take the tough fights and do all this,” he said.

“Man, they’re going to be your best friend when they want you to take the fight. They’ll damn near get on their hands and knees. But then afterward they’ll kick you to the curb”.

The 29-year-old is currently serving a six-month suspension with the Nevada Athletic Commission after he was tested positive for a banned substance, Adderall.

Lee made his UFC debut against Al Iaquinta eight years ago.

Since then, he has been a household name in the MMA circle as he went on to fight the likes of Tony Ferguson, Edson Barboza and current lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira.

He had headlined six of his last eight fights with the promotion before being declared free by the company.

Lately, the “Motown Phenom” hasn’t had a good time in the octagon as he slid to 1-4 in his final five bouts with the organization. His final loss came in the hands of Daniel Rodriguez who dominated Lee and won the bout via unanimous decision in August.

Before coming to the UFC, Lee was 7-0 and rode a streak of four submission wins. He was considered a great prospect for the UFC and as expected, he delivered whenever the promotion needed him.

But according to him, this really didn’t help him in a long run.

“People told me that going into the UFC too. They told me that same thing. I didn’t really listen, I just kept trying to give them what they want. But don’t even do that. Cherry-pick,” Lee said.

“Cherry-pick like a MFer. You’ll get further that way.”

Lee added that he had two fights left on his UFC contract, but after being snubbed from the promotion, he is already in contact with other promotions.