Kevin Lee: UFC officials not mad I popped Michael Chiesa at press conference

You might think getting kicked out of a UFC press conference was a bad thing. But when you’re Kevin Lee, you apparently get a little more leeway.

That was the case this past month when Lee (15-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was booted from the “UFC Summer Kickoff” presser along with Michael Chiesa (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), his fellow headliner at the upcoming FS1-televised UFC Fight Night 112 event, after the two clashed onstage.

The outspoken Lee had referenced Chiesa’s mother. That prompted Chiesa to rush Lee as though he would start a fight. Lee’s fist got there before security officials separated the two. The fighters later returned for a brief, profanity-laced face-off.

Officially, it’s bad business for the promotion when fighters brawl outside the cage, though it ultimately makes for great marketing material. Still, in the UFC’s home state of Nevada, at least four fighters have gotten suspended when things got too heated.

Lee might have gotten dressed down when he got backstage at the gathering. But instead, he told MMAjunkie Radio, he got a sympathetic ear.

“They understand it wasn’t on me; I wasn’t the one to do it,” he said of the scrap, which brought some heat to the June 25 fight at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. “(Chiesa) was the one to stand up and say he was going to slap the (expletive) out of me. When you say that, and then you walk up on them, what do you think is going to happen? The UFC isn’t stupid.”

Besides, Lee added, if Chiesa had really wanted to started a fight, he might not have announced it so obviously, berating his opponent before walking across the stage.

“If it was me and I really felt disrespected, I’m burning the building down,” Lee said. “I’m sorry. I’m going to jail. Otherwise, my mom would be disappointed in me.”

Chiesa might just have been thrown off by the outspoken Lee, who’s made a habit of dogging fighters he’s trying to fight. The talk is all in service of moving his career forward, of course, which is why some discount his words even before he opens his mouth.

But as the Chiesa fight demonstrates, Lee is making moves in the lightweight division. It doesn’t hurt that he’s won four straight UFC bouts, putting him up in the path of the No. 9 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings.

Chiesa, meanwhile, is making his return after an injury kept him out of the cage for a year. On a three-fight winning streak, he’s the one with the most to lose against Lee, who’s an honorable mention in the rankings.

Maybe that’s why things got so heated at the press conference. In any event, Chiesa knows what’s coming the next time the two face off. And Lee knows he can be the bad guy.

For more on UFC Fight Night 112, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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