"Y’all can’t think this is serious" - Ex-UFC star seemingly walks back on recent Andrew Tate callout

Andrew Tate was recently called out by ex-UFC welterweight/lightweight Kevin Lee, who has just taken to X/Twitter to mock sports news outlets for covering his callout. 'The Motown Phenom' has now claimed that the challenge he had issued to Tate was made in jest and not to be taken seriously.

His exact reason for walking back on his challenge remains unknown, whether it was him engaging in lighthearted trolling or trying to draw attention to himself by attaching his name to Tate, who is one of the most controversial figures in social media history.

Tate himself has long been retired from combat sports, having previously competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist to varying degrees of success. As a kickboxer, he achieved world championship glory several times, having captured ISKA and Enfusion world titles.

However, he had no notable success in MMA, winning his only fight before walking away from the sport. Meanwhile, Lee is a far more experienced mixed martial artist, with a 19–8 record and TWC lightweight title. He also challenged for the UFC interim lightweight belt, coming up short against Tony Ferguson.

Whether he was joking or serious, a bout between Lee and Tate would have been unlikely given that the latter is currently facing charges of sexual assault, human trafficking, and the formation of an organized crime syndicate. Furthermore, it is unlikely that Tate will be allowed to leave Romania in the near future.

Tate is currently held in the country under pre-trial restrictions. As for Lee, who recently walked back on his prior retirement, it remains to be seen where he next fights, given his previous issues with Eagle FC and disastrous UFC return.

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Kevin Lee isn't the only UFC fighter to have challenged Andrew Tate to a fight

UFC Hall of Famer and ex-octagon action fighter Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone once called out Andrew Tate for a fight. This was during the period when it seemed as though Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were octagon-bound. 'Cowboy' expressed an interest in taking on Tate on the hypothetical Musk-Zuckerberg card.

"I'll knock the sh* out of you. I'm a real fighter. You're a fake bullsh*t wannabe fighter who made up a bunch of world championship belts that you bought off eBay. Are you kidding me?"

Check out Donald Cerrone calling out Andrew Tate (0:21):

However, the fight never got going, as Tate did not take it seriously and dismissed Cerrone by referring to the UFC legend's devastating 40-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor.