UFC Fight Night 106's Kevin Lee on Tyron Woodley: The right message, but the wrong way

FORTALEZA, Brazil – UFC lightweight Kevin Lee agrees with Tyron Woodley’s stance on race in MMA, but he thinks the welterweight champ’s message is lost on delivery.

“He’s got the right message – I just think he’s going about it the wrong way,” Lee (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) told MMAjunkie in advance of his FS1-televised fight against Francisco Trinaldo (21-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 106, which takes place Saturday Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.

Woodley in January put race in the spotlight when he said he’s been treated worse than other UFC champions because he’s an African-American, sparking online criticism and a back-and-forth with UFC President Dana White that’s loomed over his career in the cage.

Just this week, the champ and fight executive went another round, though not over race. Woodley complained he wasn’t promoted properly, and White issued a veiled threat, telling TMZ, “There’s one guy around here who calls the shots and as soon as you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”

Lee agrees with Woodley that racism does exist in MMA. But he thinks the majority of people who haven’t directly experienced it can’t relate to those who have, and thus the champ comes off as someone who’s complaining about not being popular.

“It is very hard, no matter who you are – it’s hard to ask people to like you,” Lee said. “I mean, that’s what it seems like he’s trying to do. And that’s just not going to happen. That’s going to get you even more haters.”

Lee is no stranger to those, being an outspoken presence in the lightweight division. Once accused of by fans of racism after he called UFC welterweight Sage Northcutt a “rich, privileged white boy,” he’s acutely aware of the effect his words have. At the same time, he thinks it’s a topic that needs to be discussed, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

“I never judge anybody for how they live their life,” Lee said. “I know a lot of my friends have ended up in prison, selling drugs or stealing. I grew up with them, but I didn’t grow up in their situation.

“(Woodley is) talking to people that have never even seen that, so for him, it’s frustrating for him to get that out there, because people don’t understand, and it’s hard to make him understand. So that’s why I say he’s going about it the wrong way, because he’s trying to convince somebody of something they just don’t know about. But it needs to be talked about more in America. I think it’s one of the biggest issues, because it affects such a large portion of the population, and people try and sweep it under the rug.”

For more from Lee ahead of his fight with Trinaldo, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 106, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.