Justin Gaethje wants to beat up ‘loudmouth’ Kevin Lee: ‘He doesn’t know what respect is’

Former WSOF champion Justin Gaethje had a decent first impression of fellow top 155-pound contender Kevin Lee when the two met at the UFC Summer Kickoff presser last May. However, everything apparently turned sour after some words that were allegedly said by “The Motown Phenom.”

“First time I ever met him, he was nice,” Gaethje said on Monday’s episode The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “Then [Lee] talked sh-t saying I was fanboying over him. He doesn’t know what respect is. I’ll never show him respect again, that’s for sure.”

Gaethje has yet to finalize his plans for the year, but as early as now, he is already putting his focus on Lee.

“I just like punching loudmouths in the face,” Gaethje said. “I’m sure I’ll get the itch sooner rather than later. I said I wanted to wait around until June, July. But I’m sure I’ll get the itch sooner.”

“It’s too soon, but we’ll see how things play out,” he added, “I might want to beat up Kevin Lee, that kid over there I want to beat up.”

Both Lee and Gaethje are coming off third-round stoppage losses against Tony Ferguson and Eddie Alvarez, respectively.

Gaethje’s interview begins at the 1:13:17 mark of the video below.