AJ McKee says he was “always keen on” re-signing with Bellator, open to returning to featherweight for Patricio Pitbull trilogy

AJ McKee always knew he was going to re-sign with Bellator.

McKee is the former Bellator featherweight champion and was recently a free agent but opted to re-sign with the promotion. McKee says he is a loyal person and wanted to continue to be the face of Bellator going forward.

“I don’t think so, I think it was the right decision. I was always keen on staying with Bellator, it was just coming up with the right plan. They met my needs and I’m happy with where I’m at and the position that I’m in,” McKee said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’m just sitting back and trying to be the best I can be day in and day out… I started with them and I’m going to end with them. I think the big key there is staying loyal and riding it out.”

After re-signing, Bellator was sold to PFL which was a stressful few weeks for AJ McKee as he wasn’t sure what was going to be next for him.

But, after some time, PFL reached out to offer him a fight against Clay Collard on the PFL vs. Bellator card which he accepted.

“It was obviously a bit stressful, a bit concerning not knowing what’s happening, where I’m going to go, who I’m going to be fighting for,” McKee said. “But, once we got the contract for Clay Collard, we were all for it, and we knew he was going to be game to fight. When that name came through it was game time, we didn’t know what was going on and they came to the table with Saudi.”

Going into the fight against Clay Collard, AJ McKee had a ton of confidence he would be able to control the fight on the ground, which is what he did. McKee got Collard down early and submitted in just 70 seconds.

“Styles make fights and I felt stylistically it was a bad matchup for him. Ya, I could stand there and bang with him, but why would I do that? I had a little bit of fun on the feet with him and do what we do best. Get in and out, I don’t get paid for three five-minute rounds, it’s about getting in there and out and getting another finish,” McKee said.

With AJ McKee not taking much damage, he is hopeful he can return soon and isn’t ruling out dropping back down to 145lbs to secure the trilogy with Patricio Pitbull.

“I’m not quite sure, I’m just waiting for the phone call and hoping I can get back in there soon… With these one-off pay-per-view events, I could see myself going back down to 145lbs and reclaiming a world title. There is Patricio Pitbull, who everyone wants to see that trilogy and there is a new king in Pineda who is the PFL champ. Both those options are there, but the 155lbs tournament is an option,” McKee concluded.