Kevin Lee’s DWCS Offer and PFL Return

September 12, 2024 426 Views by

In September 2024, former UFC lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee said he was willing to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn another UFC opportunity. He had retired after a July 2023 loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov, then reconsidered and publicly sought a return. Lee eventually joined the PFL, not the UFC: in June 2025, Gadzhi Rabadanov knocked him out in the first round of a lightweight semifinal.

Lee offered to prove himself

Lee made the Contender Series offer during an appearance on the Anik & Florian podcast. He said he wanted to compete again and was prepared to take a lower-profile route to demonstrate that he still belonged at the highest level. He also said he had spoken with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby. Contemporary reporting said Lee’s proposal was not accepted.

A record that included a title fight

Before his departure, Lee had built a strong UFC lightweight résumé. He defeated Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa and Gregor Gillespie, and challenged Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title at UFC 216 in 2017. Ferguson submitted Lee in the third round. Lee later moved between lightweight and welterweight, then retired after his loss to Fakhretdinov in July 2023.

The PFL opportunity

Lee returned to competition outside the UFC and was signed as an alternate for the 2025 PFL World Tournament. He replaced an injured semifinalist and faced defending tournament champion Gadzhi Rabadanov on June 20, 2025. Rabadanov won by first-round knockout. The result ended Lee’s chance to win that tournament, but it was a separate chapter from the UFC comeback he had proposed in 2024.

What followed the offer

Lee’s willingness to enter Contender Series showed how strongly he wanted another UFC contract, but it did not guarantee a place on the show or a return to the promotion. His subsequent PFL signing and semifinal result provide the confirmed outcome: the UFC route did not materialize, while the PFL gave him another high-level bout.

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