Initially, former UFC star Kevin Lee’s career got off to a flyer in Dana White’s promotion, racking up more wins than losses, and even getting a taste of a title shot. But since 2018, he lost his place among the ranks as he failed to secure the title and suffered continuous losses till he announced his retirement. But in the wake of his return to MMA, ‘The Motown Phenom’ has put focus on Team Khabib, especially Islam Makhachev.

Kevin Lee returned from retirement with a bang, scoring an impressive 1st-round submission win in a Michigan-based promotion. What that shows is that the ex-UFC title challenger still has a lot to offer, and that’s exactly what Lee’s looking for. He wants to square off against the cream of the crop. “I wanna fight for a world title [and] I just want to fight the best guys,” the 32-year-old told ‘MMA Fighting’. “Am I hung up on the organizations? Not really. I just want to fight… guys, that really will give me a challenge and who people feel are unbeatable.”

However, one of Kevin Lee’s biggest regrets is never being able to land a fight against the best UFC lightweights during his peak popularity. Most people would think fighters would like to fight Conor McGregor for that big payday and also a chance to add a star’s name to their resumes, and there’s none bigger than ‘The Notorious’. But what Lee’s disappointed about was having missed the opportunity against the Irishman’s former rival, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Lee even had a single-fight stint at Khabib’s Eagle FC. Now, the big plan that ‘The Motown Phenom’ has is to get that big legacy clash against undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

Claiming that he’s got all the tools to edge past Islam Makhachev, which is undoubtedly his wrestling, Kevin Lee added, “It’s a shame I didn’t get to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov [and] it’s a shame if I don’t ever get to fight Islam in his career. I think I pose threats for those guys that not a lot of other lightweights do.” The lightweight star once claimed that he saw ‘holes’ in Numragomedov’s game.

While that’s an interesting fight to talk about, it could be an absolutely long hill to climb, given how the tail-end of his UFC career panned out. But did you know that Islam Makhachev once jibed at Kevin Lee in the past? Yes, the pair have exchanged strong words before.

Islam Makhachev once took a swipe at Kevin Lee long before the latter expressed interest in fighting him

A couple of months before the whole world shut down in 2020, Kevin Lee fought former champion Charles Oliveira, which Islam Makhachev didn’t seem to be impressed with. The now-lightweight champion would claim that ‘The Motown Phenom’ wasn’t fighting high-level contenders, a jibe at both Charles Oliveira and Lee. However, it was the ex-UFC star who bit the dust via a 3rd-round submission win, and for ‘Do Bronxs’, he went on to win the title a year later and later dropped it to Makhachev.

“[Kevin Lee] so much talking, but you choose easy way out,” Islam Makhachev stated on X (formerly Twitter). Could this be why ‘The Motown Phenom’ is so fixated on upping the level of his opponents? Well, there’s nothing we can really say about that but it remains to be seen if somehow, and in some way, Kevin Lee makes his way back to the premiere MMA promotion in the world.

What are your thoughts on Kevin Lee looking for that Islam Makhachev clash? Are you jumping on that bandwagon? Let us know in the comments down below.