Kevin Lee says he was told one choice left him ‘dead in the water’ in the eyes of the UFC

Kevin Lee recently reflected on his UFC career and where he believes things went wrong.

On Saturday night, Michael Chiesa retired inside the Octagon after receiving a storybook ending to his run in the leading MMA promotion.

Chiesa’s send-off caught the attention of Lee, who aired some frustrations about how his final fight in the UFC compares to his former rival’s.

‘Motown Phenom’ went on to share some advice for young fighters due to a decision he made that he thinks changed his relationship with the promotion.

Kevin Lee believes declining a meeting with Donald Trump left him on bad terms with the UFC

Following back-to-back losses, Kevin Lee rejuvenated his UFC career with one of the best knockouts of 2019 by stopping Gregor Gillespie with a head kick.

Lee last fought in 2025 but his run in the leading promotion ended back in 2023 when he returned to the Octagon after a near two-year break.

In a recent post, the former interim lightweight title challenger said that he was told that the decision he made immediately after beating Gillespie put him on bad terms with the UFC.

“I know exactly when I went wrong in the UFCs eyes,” Lee wrote on X. “After I won my fight at MSG 2019 they told me [Donald] Trump wants to meet. I snuck into the crowd and left the building. Then I met with Bernie Sanders a week later and did a whole speech for him. At that point I was dead in the water. I was told this.”