Tag: A.J. McKee

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions live and official results

Check out the full results of PFL vs. Bellator: Champions which takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions took place Saturday and MMA Junkie provided coverage of live and official results throughout the entire card.

The event featured PFL fighters vs. Bellator fighters at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Champions of both promotions clashed in the main and co-main bouts. The main event was a heavyweight bout between PFL’s [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] and Bellator’s [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag]. Middleweights battled in the co-feature as PFL’s [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] took on Bellator’s [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag].

The 11-fight event featured several notable names including [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag], [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag], [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], and the pro debut of Muhammad Ali’s grandson [autotag]Biaggio Ali Walsh[/autotag].

Check out the official results, details and highlight clips from each bout below.

A.J. McKee def. Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions: Best photos

Check out these photos from A.J. McKee vs. Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions in Saudi Arabia.

Check out these photos from [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag]’s submission victory over Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photos courtesy of PFL)

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions video: A.J. McKee taps Clay Collard with triangle armbar in 70 seconds

A.J. McKee only needed 70 seconds to tap Clay Collard with a slick submission to open the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions main card.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] racked up a win for the Bellator side in just over a minute to kick off the main card of PFL vs. Bellator: Champions.

The lightweight bout took place on the main card at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and ended rapidly thanks to a beautiful submission chain from McKee (22-1), who wrapped up Clay Collard early. At 1:10 of Round 1, Collard (24-12) was forced to tap from a triangle armbar.

When the action started, it didn’t take long for McKee to jump on a guillotine attempt. The initial submission appeared very deep, but somehow Collard worked his way free.

However, the threat wasn’t over there, as McKee smoothly transitioned into a triangle attempt. The submission chain continued when McKee added an armbar to the mix, and that would be the hold that forced the tap, as the look of frustration was all over Collard’s face.

Check out video of the finish below (via X):

The result marked four consecutive wins for McKee, who entered on the heels of wins over Spike Carlyle, Roberto de Souza, and Sidney Outlaw.

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Up-to-the-minute results of PFL vs. Bellator: Champions include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL vs. Bellator: Champions.

A.J. McKee excited to showcase boxing vs. Clay Collard, promises ‘nothing but non-stop action’

Coming off a lackluster performance in his last fight, A.J. McKee says he’s ready to let his hands go against perhaps the best boxer in PFL.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] wants to test his boxing skills against arguably the best boxer in the PFL.

On Feb. 24, McKee (21-1) returns to the cage to face Clay Collard in the first event since PFL acquired Bellator late last year. McKee wants to make a statement by not only defeating Collard but also beating him at in the striking department.

“With Clay Collard, we already know what kind of his weakness is. It’s the wrestling, the jiu-jitsu, but I think this is more of an opportunity for me to go out there and showcase my skills of boxing,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “He’s a boxer, and he likes to come in. He likes to throw a lot of body punches and kind of get that gritty, banger-type fights, so for me, it’s don’t play his game, play my game.”

McKee is coming off a lackluster unanimous decision win over Sidney Outlaw in November. He sees Collard as the perfect partner to redeem himself.

“Clay Collard is a banger. He’s going to come in and throw his hands,” McKee said. “I wasn’t too happy with my last performance. Obviously, I was on my back 12 of the 15 minutes, so this is a fight where I’m able to go out there and let my hands go.

“I know he’s going to stand in front of me and try to walk me down. It’s going to be a fun fight, and I can’t wait for this fight. Like I said, it’s the people’s main fight, and that’s what I look forward to giving them: Three, five-minute rounds of nothing but non-stop action.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL vs. Bellator.

A.J. McKee ready to lead charge to set Bellator fighters apart in PFL

Although the Bellator brand has been around longer, one of its biggest stars thinks he and his colleagues might be overlooked by the PFL.

Although the Bellator brand has been around longer than the PFL by quite a bit, one of its biggest stars thinks he and his colleagues might be getting looked at as the proverbial red-headed stepchildren.

Later this month in Saudi Arabia, Bellator’s champions and standouts will take on their PFL counterparts in the first event after PFL purchased Bellator from Paramount. Former Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] will take on Clay Collard, who reached the PFL’s $1 million lightweight final this past November, but fell short.

But because the PFL bought Bellator, McKee thinks there’s a misperception out there.

“It’s Bellator vs. PFL for the other champions, but at the end of the day, it’s A.J. McKee vs. Clay Collard,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “Clay said ‘PFL acquired Bellator,’ so there’s a big chip on these (PFL) guys’ shoulders already. But at the end of the day, us Bellator fighters – we’re coming for business.

“At the press conference, it showed – we’re all suited and booted. These (PFL) guys are comfortable having fun, dressed up in f*cking movie football jerseys and stuff. We’re coming for business, at the end of the day, and I think that’s the difference that’s going to set us apart when it comes to fight night.”

McKee, who will turn 29 in April, wrapped his Bellator career at 21-1. All 22 of his pro bouts have been under the Bellator banner. After he beat Patricio Freire to win the featherweight title in 2021, he lost it to him in a rematch nine months later.

But he made the move to lightweight and is 3-0 in the weight class with decision wins over Spike Carlyle, Roberto de Souza and Sidney Outlaw, which came at Bellator 301 in November – Bellator’s final event before the sale to the PFL.

McKee said even though he was a big-time homegrown star for Bellator, he might have to win over some new fans in the PFL era.

“It’s a new organization. PFL knows of me. Their fans don’t really know about me,” McKee said. “So for me, I see it as an opportunity to go out there and show them what I’m really about and showcase my skills to them. I’m not really worried about it. I felt it was an honor to be able to fight on not only the last Bellator show, but now the first collaboration show, as well. I think that just goes with my accolades, my achievements and the type of fighter that I am. I think they know what they’re going to get: They’re going to get a good fight.”

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

What’s next? A.J. McKee saddened by Bellator’s potential fizzle, but ‘it’s just all business’ at this point

After Bellator 301, A.J. McKee described the balance between emotion and business that flows through his brain during this uncertain time.

CHICAGO – If an example of homegrown Bellator talent needs identifying, [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] might be the most prime.

In the cage Friday at Bellator 301, McKee (21-1 MMA, 21-1 BMMA) partook in his 22nd Bellator bout. He’s never competed under any other promotional banner as a professional.

McKee, 28, admits Bellator has largely become part of his identity. Bellator president Scott Coker has long praised McKee. He often proudly describes the development of McKee throughout the organization.

Almost nine years after McKee debuted in the promotion, Bellator nears a potential sale or merger. The event Friday at Wintrust Arena could be the promotion’s final. McKee will balance emotion and business as he proceeds into the great unknown.

“Everything that I’ve built off of, everything I know has been through Bellator,” McKee told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “This is my home. To see it go away, it’s sad. But at the same time, it’s just all business for me at this point. Bellator is like a home to me. Everybody here, the whole organization, the staff is just very loving. Everybody caters to what needs to be done. They help out like a team. To see that whole family-oriented scenario go away, I’m a little bummed.

“(I’ll) put one foot in front of the other and keep walking. This journey is not going to stop. It’s just going to continue to go and go and go. Like I said, I wish everybody the best at Bellator. I hope everybody is taken care of and everybody is OK. It’s all with peace and love and blessings for me.”

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Should Bellator announce future events and its lightweight grand prix continue, McKee advocated that he wants to step in as an alternate fighter, as champion and finalist Usman Nurmagomedov recently tested positive for a prohibited substance.

“I’d say just focus on the job that’s at hand,” McKee said. “That was my whole thing, (to) go in there and prove I want to be in that tournament, prove that I’m the man to win that grand prix belt (and) finish ‘The Mercenary’s Hit List’ as I call it. It’s just not a regular world title. It’s got eight names on that belt, one of them including mine. I feel anybody that wants that belt, they have to walk through me. So to be in that tournament, obviously Usman is out. But yeah, that grand prix belt is where it’s at for me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Bellator 301 results: A.J. McKee bloodies Sidney Outlaw, overcomes control disadvantage for unanimous decision win

Sidney Outlaw might’ve had control time in his favor, but A.J. McKee did all the damage at Bellator 301.

[autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] might’ve had the control time in his favor, but [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] did all the damage at Bellator 301.

Despite spending much of their lightweight fight on his back, McKee still came away with a clean-sweep unanimous decision win over Outlaw on Friday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. All three judges scored it 30-27 for McKee, underscoring the idea that control time alone isn’t enough to win a fight.

The tone was set in Round 1 as Outlaw (17-6 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) caught a McKee body kick and took him down within the first 15 seconds. For the remainder of the round, Outlaw mostly just held down McKee (21-1 MMA, 21-1 BMMA), who was active with punches and escape attempts from the bottom.

In Round 2, McKee defended Outlaw’s first takedown attempt, but Outlaw caught another kick moments later and used it to take down McKee. Immediately this time, McKee threw elbows to the side of Outlaw’s head and cut him over his right eye. Again, Outlaw appeared content to just lay on McKee, who eventually swept his way into a mount. At that point, McKee landed lots of punches until Outlaw managed to reverse the position and lay on McKee for the second half of the round. But the damage was done as Outlaw was leaking blood from his eye.

Before Round 3, the doctor closely examined Outlaw’s cut and allowed the fight to continue. McKee opened up with a level change and got a takedown in the first 20 seconds and hit Outlaw with a steady barrage of left hands. Outlaw did manage to reverse position to close out the backend of the final round, but just like before, he simply didn’t throw enough from his top position.

Unofficially, Outlaw had 11 minutes of ground control to 2 minutes for McKee. But McKee had an overwhelming advantage in strikes, 71-28, which included 17-0 on elbows landed.

McKee, a former Bellator featherweight champion, is now 3-0 as a lightweight. This was his first fight after an 11-month layoff. Outlaw has no alternated wins and losses in past three bouts.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 301 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Video: Bellator 301 media day faceoffs feature Yaroslav Amosov, Jason Jackson all buddy-buddy

Check out the faceoffs from Bellator 301 media day in Chicago, where Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson had a friendly encounter.

CHICAGO – Bellator 301 media day took place Wednesday with all 10 main-card fighters in attendance, and MMA Junkie was on the scene for the festivities and faceoffs that ensued at the host hotel.

The main event features welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] defending his title against [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag]. And in the co-main event, champ [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] and interim champ [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] will meet to unify the bantamweight title.

Three other fights are featured on the main card: A rematch between bantamweight contenders [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]; former featherweight champ [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix alternate bout; and a lightweight grand prix semifinal between [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Shabiliy[/autotag].

After each matchup’s fighters fielded questions from reporters, they came together for faceoffs, which you can watch in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 11-17.