ATLANTA – For years, former lightweight interim title challenger Kevin Lee has been one of the UFC’s most active voices in favor of a 165-pound division.

Now set to make his debut as a welterweight, Lee told reporters while attending Saturday’s UFC 236 that he’s decided to dial down on those talks and let some of his peers take over. But perhaps when he squares off against another former lightweight in Rafael dos Anjos, the two could send a different type of message.

Like, say, if both men agree to show up at 165 pounds for their UFC on ESPN+ 9 headliner on May 18?

“Maybe, it might be a little backroom deal that we got on there,” Lee answered, when asked if he’d thought about suggesting this arrangement. “‘RDA’ is kind of, he don’t really give you too much to go off of, and he don’t really give you too much back and forth, so, you know – I’ll ask him, see what he thinks about it.

“If he’s down with it, I’d be down – and I’d cut an extra little five pounds for that, make a statement, make some noise. It’s in our contract, we ain’t got to, but I like to push some buttons.”

That would be an interesting button to push, considering how UFC President Dana White feels about the idea of the division. Just the day before Lee’s chat with reporters, during the promotion’s seasonal press conference in Atlanta, White was asked again about a 165 division.

And once more, he categorically shut it down.

We’ve seen White walk back categorical statements before, though, and for Lee, 165 pounds is by no means a lost cause.

“I think it’s inevitable,” Lee said. “I think we all kind of see that. I think it creates more work for them, and they don’t really see that much more benefit out of it. But, at the end of the day, when you talk about fighter safety and you talk about not having to dehydrate your brain and getting to fight a similar opponent, that’s what we’re looking for, is an even playing field.

“That’s why I’m actually glad that ‘RDA’ is going up – and you see (Anthony) Pettis go up, you see Jorge (Masvidal), you see a lot of other guys go up – just so we can fight on an even playing field. If I don’t have to dehydrate myself and dehydrate my brain 16 more pounds, please don’t make me. I think, for fighters’ safety, it has to be done. It’s just making more work for them, but I can’t tell somebody else how to do their job, so I’m going to do mine.”

For now, Lee has decided to make 170 his home. After years of notoriously difficult cuts down to lightweight, Lee says he felt the positive effects of his decision in his first few weeks of training, and he’s confident that this will translate to a “damn good fight” when he puts it to the test against dos Anjos on May 18.

“Even squaring off with ‘RDA’ and seeing him face-to-face, we’re the same size, man,” Lee said. “I like that about it. And, at the end of the day, I just like a good fight. He’s going to give it to me.”

A former lightweight champion and interim welterweight title challenger, dos Anjos kicked off his 170-pound run in stellar fashion, with consecutive wins over Tarec Saffiedine, Neil Magny and fellow ex-champ Robbie Lawler. He’s since gone on a skid, though, with decision losses to Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.

For his part, Lee (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is not letting dos Anjos’ (28-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) recent negative results let him lose sight of the fact this remains a tough fight. And, next month, he wants to do something neither Covington or Usman were able to do.

“Nobody has ever really stopped him, and nobody has ever seriously hurt him,” Lee said. “So that’s something I’m going to push for. At the end of the day, I’m going to get back to me. I’m going to get back to my natural fighting style. I’m going to push forward, I’m not going to take a step back. Put my chin down.

“I’m going to throw some hands, and we’ll see what he do and how he’s going to counteract that.”

UFC on ESPN+ 9 takes place May 18 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.

To hear more from Lee, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC on ESPN+ 9, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.