UNCASVILLE, Conn. – After his featherweight tournament and title win, Bellator president Scott Coker thinks [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] might be a little more than just the best fighter in his promotion.
McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) choked out Patricio Freire (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) in the first round at to not only win Bellator’s grand prix, but Freire’s featherweight title in the Bellator 263 main event. McKee landed a head kick, then finished the job with a standing guillotine choke in less than two minutes.
The fight proved to be not very competitive, and Coker thinks McKee can make a case as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, regardless of promotion.
“I think he’s earned that right,” Coker said after Bellator 264 on Friday in Connecticut. “‘Pitbull’ is a legend here at Bellator and in mixed martial arts, and he was ranked (No. 1) pound-for-pound. I take my hat off to A.J. because he took care of business.”
[lawrence-related id=660699,658536,658556]
McKee and Freire might not be done, either. It’s possible McKee could move up to lightweight to challenge Freire for the 155-pound title in an attempt to become a simultaneous two-division champion the way Freire was before he ran into McKee.
Coker said McKee predicted he’d walk through Freire. He arguably did just that and wrapped up the 16-man grand prix with four stoppage wins – including three in the first round.
“He told me the week of the fight, ‘This is going to be an easy fight, Coker.’ I go, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘No, it’s going to be an easy fight – trust me,'” Coker said. “He was really confident, and he went out and took care of business. To me, he walks the talk, and until somebody dethrones that kid, I think he’s the greatest fighter at 145, and pound-for-pound the best fighter in our company.”
And there’s the rub. Freire was Bellator’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion’s official rankings. McKee took him out, and now rightfully has that spot. In MMA Junkie’s pound-for-pound MMA rankings, which track fighters from all promotions, McKee made a big climb to No. 8 overall, as well as No. 1 at featherweight.
There are big names ahead of McKee on the MMA Junkie pound-for-pound list right now: Jon Jones is at No. 1, followed by UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, ONE Championship flyweight Demetrious Johnson, UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, former UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic and, at No. 7, Bellator heavyweight champ and former dual titleholder Ryan Bader.
Coker may be biased, but he’d have no qualms if McKee was No. 1 on that list after what he did to Freire.
“I do (think he’s the best in the world),” Coker said. “I mean, who’s going to beat him? … Who’s going to beat this kid? I mean, he’s that good. When I first saw him fight years ago, I saw something in this kid. I saw potential in him. He had a little swagger, the gift of gab – he had that ‘it’ factor, and he’s developed into a big star. … The way he fought ‘Pitbull,’ it’s very rare you see such a dominant performance in such a big fight like that. It was his night.”
[listicle id=656677]
[vertical-gallery id=657233]