ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – UFC lightweight Kevin Lee is fine with being one of many options for No. 1 contenders.

Although he lost a shot at the UFC interim lightweight title this past October to Tony Ferguson, Lee (16-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) believes he could work his way back into the title conversation with a win over Edson Barboza (19-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 128, which takes place Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., and airs live on FS1.

“Options are always good,” Lee told MMAjunkie at an open workout for the event. “My name is already up there. This one is really going to solidify that. We’ll see how this thing shakes out. That gives me the motivation to keep doing it, but I don’t need no more motivation than Edson trying to kick my head off on Saturday.

“My paycheck depends on it, and you know me, I like the green. So I’m going to go out there an make that bread.”

The UFC has a new undisputed lightweight champion in Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who trounced short-notice replacement Al Iaquinta (13-4-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at UFC 223 to usurp the belt held by Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC). But there’s a handful of X-factors in the division that muddy the title picture, not the least of which is McGregor’s potential turn.

Fighters like Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who was stripped of the interim title upon withdrawing from UFC 223, has a rightful claim to the No. 1 contender position when he returns from a knee injury. Then there’s Dustin Poirier (23-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC), who had the MMA world buzzing with a “Fight of the Year” contenders against Justin Gaethje (18-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

Eddie Alvarez (29-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC), Poirier’s rival and previous opponent, wasn’t able to take a short-notice title opportunity at UFC 223, but also wowed UFC fans with “Fight of the Year” win over Justin Gaethje this past December.

Lee knows the field is already crowded. But characteristically, he’s dismissive of his immediate competition.

On Poirier, Lee admits the fight was just what the UFC needed as far as excitement. But as a fighter, he didn’t see anything of note and doesn’t think Poirier has earned the title shot.

“When I look at it from a competitor’s standpoint, I didn’t really see anything that really impressed me or really stood out, especially going into a title fight,” he said.

“If that’s what the UFC decides, that’s on them. I’m not going to tell another man how to do his job. They’re the promoters. But I’m looking at it like a fan, and I’m saying, what is he bringing to the table that’s different. I just don’t see him being championship caliber.”

On Alvarez, Lee believes the ex-champ ruled himself out of a title opportunity by turning down the fight with Nurmagomedov.

“I’m sorry, but when you come out and you say you’re too fat to take a fight, c’mon,” he said. “Right there, you’re already out of the door. I think he’s got one foot out the door, and I’ll go ahead and kick him out of the door if they want me to. That was one of the ones I was looking at before this fight approached, but Eddie’s on his way out. I wanted a bigger challenger, and I’m going to go out there and prove it on Saturday.”

To do that, Lee’s got to avoid getting his head kicked off by Barboza. Lee is very vocal about his chances against champ Nurmagomedov, but his words mean nothing if he can’t get back in the win column.

For more on UFC Fight Night 128, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.