A.J. McKee News

Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2023

Former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee will be sticking around in the promotion for the long haul. ‘Mercenary’ is fresh off his decision victory over Roberto de Souza in the main event of Bellator vs. RIZIN last month. The win was also McKee’s second since moving to the lightweight division earlier this year. He previously defeated Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286 in October.

Josh Evanoff - January 3, 2023

Bellator lightweight contender A.J. McKee had quite the night in Japan last Saturday. Over the weekend, Bellator and RIZIN held their first co-promotional event. While the two promotions have had a talent-sharing program for years, Saturday was their first event featuring both brands. Names such as Patricio Pitbull and Kyoji Horiguchi fought on the card against RIZIN’s competitors.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 2, 2022

AJ McKee has offered an explanation for his decision to go full-on Israel Adesanya during his Bellator 286 fight against Spike Carlyle. McKee and Carlyle did battle inside Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. The bout went the distance and while McKee was the clear winner, taking a unanimous decision, Carlyle received praise for his toughness and he never stopped trying to be competitive in the fight.

Josh Evanoff - September 30, 2022

Bellator lightweight contender Spike Carlyle missed weight earlier today, and he wasn’t happy. ‘The Alpha Ginger’ is currently riding a five-fight winning streak, last defeating Koji Takeda in April. The bout was a one-off in RIZIN, and he’s now set to Bellator tomorrow night. Carlyle is set to co-main event Bellator 286 tomorrow night, in one of the most high-profile bouts of his career.

Josh Evanoff - September 16, 2022

Former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee is down for some crossover fights. ‘Mercenary’ has been out of action since his rematch with Patricio Pitbull in April. Their first outing nearly a year prior saw McKee win the featherweight title by first-round submission. In the rematch, the Brazilian flipped the script and regained his championship by decision.

Josh Evanoff - August 3, 2022

Patricio Pitbull, Adam Borics, and A.J. McKee have been added to Bellator 286 in October. In April, the Brazilian faced off with ‘Mercenary’ for the second time. They first faced off at Bellator 263 in July 2021, with the Bellator featherweight title on the line. That outing saw McKee capture the strap with a stunning first-round submission victory.

Josh Evanoff - April 22, 2022

Scott Coker has revealed that fans will likely see a Patricio Pitbull and A.J. McKee trilogy bout in the future. The two featherweights are coming off back to back clashes with one another. Their first encounter at Bellator 263 in July 2021 saw McKee win the Bellator Grand Prix by submission. Their follow-up bout at Bellator 277 last week saw Pitbull reclaim the featherweight title via unanimous decision.

Chris Taylor - April 16, 2022

Rampage Jackson says that Friday’s ‘McKee vs. Pitbull 2’ fight resulted in the worst robbery he’s ever seen in MMA. McKee (18-1 MMA, 18-1 BMMA) and Freire (33-5 MMA, 21-5 BMMA) collided for a second time in the headliner of Bellator 277 last night in San Jose.

Chris Taylor - April 15, 2022

Tonight’s Bellator 277 event is headlined by a featherweight title fight rematch between A.J. McKee and Patricio Freire. McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) will be looking to earn his first career title defense when he squares off with ‘Pitbull’ for a second time this evening. ‘The Mercenary’ has won 5 of his past 7 bouts in the very first round, including his recent defeat of Freire.

Susan Cox - April 15, 2022

Bellator 277 takes place today, Friday April 15th with official results beginning at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). The event takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, California. The main card airs on ‘Showtime’ following the online prelims.

Josh Evanoff - April 13, 2022

Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee has revealed the price that is needed for him to stay in the promotion. ‘Mercenary’ is coming off a victory over Patricio Pitbull last July. The victory saw him win Bellator featherweight gold, as well as the promotion’s 145-pound Grand Prix. He’s now set to rematch the former champion this Friday at Bellator 277.

Josh Evanoff - February 16, 2022

Bellator 277 has officially been announced for April 15th. The event is packing heat and has two of their biggest title fights of the year scheduled for it. The main event of the card will be the second chapter in the rivalry between A.J. McKee and Patricio Pitbull. The two first met at Bellator 263, where ‘Mercenary’ defeated the champion via first-round submission to claim featherweight gold. The bout was the finals of Bellator’s 2020 featherweight Grand Prix.

Drake Riggs - August 2, 2021

AJ McKee is the new Bellator featherweight king. Bellator 263 this past Saturday night saw the 26-year old crowned to close out the 145-pound one-million-dollar Grand Prix. To do so, McKee put away the greatest fighter in promotional history, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, in just a single round.

Adam D Martin - August 1, 2021

New Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee says Max Holloway is his “dream fight” after beating Patricio Pitbull at Saturday’s Bellator 263. McKee and Pitbull met in the main event of Bellator 263 in what marked the finals of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, a 16-man tournament that began nearly two years ago and only just now finished. Although Pitbull is the champion and one of the most experienced fighters to ever compete in Bellator, he was finished early in the first round when McKee rocked him with a head kick and then choked him out with a guillotine. It was an incredible finish by McKee and proved that he is one of the best featherweights in MMA.

Chris Taylor - July 31, 2021

Tonight’s Bellator 263 event was headlined by the tournament finals of the promotions 145-pound grand prix as Patricio Freire squared off with A.J. McKee. Patricio Freire (32-5 MMA), Bellator’s reigning featherweight champion, had entered tonight’s main event on a seven-fight winning streak, his latest being a first round submission victory over Emmanuel Sanchez in the featherweight grand prix semifinals.

Chris Taylor - July 31, 2021

Tonight’s Bellator 263 event is headlined by the tournament finals of the promotions 145-pound grand prix as Patricio Freire meets A.J. McKee. Patricio Freire (32-4 MMA), the reigning Bellator featherweight champion, will enter tonight’s main event sporting a seven-fight winning streak, his latest being a first round submission victory over Emmanuel Sanchez in the featherweight grand prix semifinals.

Adam D Martin - June 11, 2021

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull vs. AJ McKee is set for the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix finals this summer. Pitbull and McKee will meet on July 30 on Showtime, according to MMAFighting.com, with Pitbull’s 145lbs belt and the $1 million tournament grand prize up for grabs. The venue and location for the event have not been determined yet, although Bellator has been holding all of its shows at the Mohegan Sun Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s possible the promotion could look to book this fight somewhere else where more fans will be allowed to attend since it’s such a big fight for the promotion.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

AJ McKee has known it would be him and Patricio Pitbull in the finals of the featherweight grand prix. McKee made quick work of Georgi Karakhanyan and then submitted Derek Camps and Darrion Caldwell to reach the finals. Pitbull, meanwhile, beat Juan Archuleta and then KO’d Pedro Carvalho and submitted Emmanuel Sanchez to reach the finals.