Kevin Lee: Return to UFC should have been vs. Tony Ferguson, not Rinat Fakhretdinov

Kevin Lee admits a Tony Ferguson rematch should have been his comeback fight to the UFC.

Lee (19-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) suffered a 55-second submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC on ESPN 48 last July in his return to the octagon. He announced his retirement shortly after, but retracted those plans just six months after.

Lee wished his return fight to the UFC was against Ferguson (25-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC), who submitted him in their interim lightweight title fight in 2017.

“That should have been the fight instead of the Renat fight,” Lee told MMA Junkie Radio. “I just was unable to go down to ’55 at the time because my knee was in such bad shape I couldn’t work out the way I used to to be able to lose the weight. But that should have been the fight that I came back to. Yeah, that fight still interests me. That would be a good fight. There’s no doubt.”

Lee isn’t 100 percent sure his next fight will take place in the octagon, but all he can confirm is that it will be in MMA.

“I haven’t even started talking about my contract yet,” Lee said. “That was going to be something for March. Right now, we’re at the end of February so, in a few weeks we’ll start talking contracts. Honestly, I don’t know, and I wish I could give you all a little more clarity on it, but it’s kind of unclear to me.

“Right now, I’m just focused on getting in shape. That’s the No. 1 is making sure my knee is healthy.”