Exclusive Q&A: Kevin Lee issues warning to Gadzhi Rabadanov - 'I'm going to kick his head clean off his shoulders'

DAZN News spoke to the former UFC fighter. He is determined to make his return to the cage and take down Rabadanov, winner of the 2024 tournament.

DAZN News: You're about to make your PFL début. A few words about your signature?

Kevin Lee: I'm pretty excited about it. This is a big opportunity. It's something that I've been asking for for over a year now. It happened at the last moment when I never expected it. But I made sure that I stayed ready. I've been training. I'm not just fresh off the couch, so I was ready to take this opportunity.

DN: First fight and you take a tough guy directly with Gadzhi. What do you think of him?

KL: I think he's good. I don't think a lot of people look at him as one of the top lightweights, but he definitely is. The UFC is not the only place with the best fighters. He was the PFL champion last year (world tournament). He's been on an incredible run, and I think he's very, very tough. I think he's got a good skill set. But my strength, my power, my speed, my technique, and my experience are going to win me the fight.

DN: The last time he fought a former UFC fighter (Marc Diakiese), he finished him by KO after 30 seconds. How will it be different this time?

KL: I was at that fight in Orlando, and he was the only lightweight on the card that really impressed me. He was very accurate with his punches, and he had a lot of power. But this one is going to be totally different. I'm at a totally different skill level than Marc Diakiese. Just because he was a UFC fighter, there's still branches and calibers of that. So I think after the first exchange, he's going to notice that this is a different caliber of opponent. Some people, when they leave the UFC or they leave these bigger promotions, they start to take guys lightly. But I'll make sure that I don't fall for that trap. I’m experienced enough, and I've fought enough top-level guys to know that I'm not going to fall for that trap.

DN: Any prediction?

KL: It's going to be a great fight. It's going to be a great fight. It's going to be, I think, very back and forth, and I'm going to wear him down. He's not going to be ready for the size. He's not going to be ready for my strength, and he's not going to be ready for my grappling on the ground. So I think it's going to be a great fight. And he's a champion, so he should stay in there for a long time. If he doesn't, if he wants a way out, then I'm going to kick his head clean off his shoulders. I'm usually pretty light-hearted and keep it funny and laughing and joking, but I'm dead serious. I will kick his head clean off.

DN: Your last UFC fight was two years ago. You fight in a fortnight's time. You've only fought once in that time. What kind of Kevin Lee can we expect?

KL: A brand new Kevin Lee. I'm totally different. I'm in a totally different mind space now. I have a family. I have my kids. I'm expecting a new baby on the way. So my focus is a whole lot different. It’s not a young, brash kid that's going out and trying to make a name for himself. Now, it's about something bigger. It's about my family and making sure that my kids grow up in the right environment, that I put the right things and the right resources around them. And I show them a great example. So you're going to see a totally different, more composed Kevin Lee, more tenacious Kevin Lee. I’ve always shown my heart and I've always shown my ferocity in fights, but this one will be totally different.

DN: You had a fight scheduled in BKFC, but it was canceled. You had a fight in GFL, but it was canceled. Did it affect you not to fight?

KL: The whole GFL, we're going through a legal battle with them right now. Hopefully, it's all resolved before the year is over. I had great hopes for all promotions, really, because MMA needs more promotions. We need more people in the sport to continue to build the sport. I love this sport. As much as I try and deny it and as much as I try and get away from it, I always end up back in this sport. And I think it's going to be somewhere that I'm involved with for a very long time. But I love the sport, and I want to see the sport continue to grow. I would hate to see it plateau, which I feel like is what we've felt over these last six months. There needs to be a second boom, another big rise in the stardom. There needs to be another big rise in the talent, and there needs to be another big rise in the promotions, too, and the people that are behind the scenes.

DN: There were rumors about you fighting Patrick Habirora. He fights in the main event of PFL Belgium against Danny Roberts. Do you want to fight him?

KL: I would definitely be interested in that fight. Definitely.

DN: Who do you want in the final, Brent Primus or Alfie Davis?

KL: To be honest, I'm not looking past this guy. He won the title last year. He beat Brent Primus. So I think this is going to be the hardest fight of the tournament. I don't spend any time thinking about the next round or the next opponent or who it's going to be. We'll worry about that on June 21st. But right now, this guy is very good. He's from a very good team. He's from Team Khabib, which means they have a big target on their back. They got a chip on their shoulder, and I'm going to make sure that I knock that chip off. So I'm not thinking about anything else other than that.

DN: The champion of this division is Usman Nurmagomedov. If you want, what is your long-term goal in the PFL? The champions that we build?

KL: I would love to fight Usman. I think this is a great introduction into that. The last time I fought a Russian was in 2016, so it's almost 10 years ago at this point. Back then, I showed that American wrestling was better. This fight, I'm going to show American wrestling is better again. And if I fight Usman for the title, which I think would be a great fight, I'll do the same thing again.

DN: Do you think that you can beat fighters from that country because their style has become predictable?

KL: Yes and no. I think they've each got different styles. I don't know if Gadzhi is really as wrestling-heavy as some of the other guys like Islam or Khabib. We look to the top guys and say, “Okay, everyone must fight like that.” But I don't necessarily think so. And there's a part of it where I feel it will almost be to his disadvantage. He's used to tossing people around. So I think once I put him in that mindset, I’m going to continue to toss him around, and he'll notice and feel the difference in power and in technique.

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