Kevin Lee hasn’t been seen in the Octagon since losing to UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 216.
While Lee doesn’t know just when he’ll step back into the Octagon, an opponent the fighter would like to battle is Nate Diaz.
“I see what Eddie’s (Alvarez) trying to do, but I think the man’s just got it all wrong,” Lee said on The MMA Hour. “I think the fans, they don’t want to see who’s the biggest name against the biggest name. It’s who’s the best. So, if we’re going from a sporting perspective, I gotta throw my hat in the ring versus Diaz. I think that’s the fight to make. That’s a fight that I’ve been pushing for. That’s a fight that I’m going to talk my talk and I’m going to keep going. But from every other perspective other than a fun fight, that’s the fight to make.”
Diaz recently teased a return to action himself, but the Stockton native hasn’t fought since UFC 202.
Eddie Alvarez also wants a bout with Diaz, but Lee believes the fans don’t want to see a washed up former lightweight champion facing the potentially returning star.
“If you’ve got Alvarez in there — the man’s washed up. We all know that. The UFC brass, they know it. Alvarez is never going to be the champion again. He’s never even going to sniff that title again. If they want to make me and Alvarez happen, I’m cool with that too, but I’m just looking at it from a fan perspective and seeing what I would want to see. I want to see the two guys who just challenged for the title, because I’m going to be back in a title shot within the next year. And I think the UFC knows that, I think the fans know that, and I think that’s what makes the most sense," says Lee.
Alvarez last competed at UFC 218, defeating former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje by knockout.
