Kevin Lee believes political speech ruined relationship with UFC

Kevin Lee has attributed a significant decline in his UFC career trajectory to a 2019 decision to campaign for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The lightweight recalled that his stock was high at the time—he had just earned a performance bonus for a stoppage victory over Gregor Gillespie—when Sanders' team reached out requesting his participation in a campaign speech at a convention. Lee accepted unpaid, believing Sanders would win the 2020 election. "My career really started going south after that Gregor fight," Lee told commentator Eric Cerminara, linking his subsequent struggles directly to the political move. The episode raises questions about the UFC's relationship with fighters' political expression and whether the promotion subtly punished Lee for his public support of a political figure at odds with the sitting administration at the time.