Kevin Lee Says UFC Penalized Him for Snubbing Trump, Backing Sanders

Overview

• Lee, posting on X on Monday, alleged the promotion punished him after he declined to meet President Donald Trump and later endorsed Bernie Sanders.
• He said the friction started after his 2019 head‑kick knockout at Madison Square Garden, when he slipped out instead of taking a postfight meeting with Trump.
• Lee wrote that a week later he introduced Sanders at a rally and was told he was “dead in the water” with the UFC.
• UFC officials have not confirmed his account, and outlets reported the allegation as unverified and likely to remain a he‑said, he‑said dispute.
• His late UFC run featured five losses in six bouts, ending with a 55‑second submission to Rinat Fakhretdinov in 2023, a record that reporters cite as a performance-based explanation for his trajectory.