Whereas Dagestan’s wrestling dominance has steamrolled by the UFC—neutralizing elite strikers and grapplers alike—former UFC star Kevin Lee isn’t shopping for into the hype. As he gears as much as face Crew Khabib’s Gadzhi Rabadanov, Lee boldly claims that his American wrestling model is the true kryptonite to each Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
In reality, Lee isn’t holding again. Not solely does he imagine American wrestling is superior, however he’s additionally taking direct photographs at Islam and Khabib, asserting that he would defeat their hegemony. Whereas having a dialog with MMAJunkie, Lee expressed that Russian wrestling may be good, however he has what it takes to show them, “The final time that I fought a Russian, or anyone from that space, was in 2015. We fought in Eire, and going into that struggle, certainly one of my fundamental targets was to indicate that American wrestling is best, and I proved that.”
Lee was referring to his conflict towards Magomed Mustafaev, which passed off in 2016 in Belfast, Northern Eire. The ‘Motown Phenom’ defeated the Russians by unanimous determination, cementing his standing as one of many high abilities within the promotion. The fighter didn’t cease there—he was even referenced as Khabib’s kryptonite by the host. Fairly absurd, particularly when you think about that he was defeated by Charles Oliveira, who then misplaced to Islam Makhachev.
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Speaking about Islam Makhachev, Lee claimed that the soon-to-be-former light-weight champion averted combating him. How? Effectively, in line with Lee, “They’re superb, you already know. I referred to as out Islam for a very long time too. My struggle towards Charles Oliveira in Brazil was truly imagined to be Islam in Russia. That was imagined to be the struggle available, and I believe that they averted that struggle for a cause.”
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It’s fairly daring of him to accentuate his rivalry with Crew Khabib forward of his match towards Gadzhi Rabadanov, who’s using an eleven-fight profitable streak. However does this profitable streak imply something to the fighter? Apparently not, as in his latest dialog, Lee has ripped into Rabadanov.
Kevin Lee points contemporary warning to Crew Khabib forward of PFL world match
Set to make his long-awaited PFL debut, Kevin Lee is gearing as much as tackle Crew Khabib’s rising star, Gadzhi Rabadanov, within the semi-finals of the 2025 PFL World Light-weight Event on June 20. Returning after a year-long hiatus, Lee enters the bout on a one-fight profitable streak and is assured he’ll deal with Rabadanov with ease.
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In his latest interview with DAZN information, the previous UFC fighter didn’t maintain again as he issued a daring callout to Crew Khabib’s hotshot, “I believe it’s going to be an amazing struggle. And he’s a champion, so he ought to keep in there for a very long time. If he doesn’t, if he desires a method out, then I’m going to kick his head clear off his shoulders. I’m often fairly light-hearted and preserve it humorous and laughing and joking, however I’m useless critical. I’ll kick his head clear off.”
With Rabadanov using the momentum of his 2024 match victory and an prolonged win streak, Lee views this as the proper alternative to remind the world of his elite pedigree—and he’s laser-focused on derailing the Dagestani juggernaut.