Tag: A.J. McKee

A.J. McKee targeted for return against Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 301

Bellator is looking to beef up its November event with the return of former champ A.J. McKee.

Former Bellator champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] is targeted to return to action in a key lightweight bout in November.

Bellator is in the process of finalizing a matchup between McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] for its upcoming November event. Multiple sources with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted booking with MMA Junkie following a first report from ESPN.

Bellator 301 takes place Nov. 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, and features two title fights at the top of the card. In the main event, welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov puts his title on the line against Jason Jackson. The bantamweight title will be unified in the co-feature, as champion Sergio Pettis faces interim champion Patchy Mix.

McKee, 28, will compete for the first time in 2023. The former featherweight champion was set to fight Patricky Freire at Bellator X Rizin 2 in July, but a staph infection forced him to withdraw from the bout. McKee last competed at Bellator X Rizin 1 on New Year’s Eve, where he defeated Roberto de Souza by unanimous decision.

Outlaw (17-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will look to keep the momentum going from a unanimous decision win over Islam Mamedov at Bellator 298 in August. The 31-year-old lightweight suffered a setback to Tofiq Musayev in the bout prior, which followed a pair of wins over Adam Piccolotti and Myles Jury.

With the addition, the current Bellator 301 lineup includes:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Jason Jackson – for welterweight title
  • Sergio Pettis vs. Patchy Mix – to unify bantamweight title
  • Patricky Freire vs. Alexander Shabliy
  • Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello
  • A.J. McKee vs. Sidney Outlaw
  • Ali Isaev vs. Daniel James
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm
  • Justin Gonzales vs. Timur Khizriev
  • Mike Hamel vs. Tim Wilde
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. Denise Kielholtz
  • Islam Mamedov vs. Killys Mota

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

A.J. McKee reveals staph infection in knee forced him out of Bellator X Rizin 2

A staph infection in his knee is what forced A.J. McKee out of his lightweight tournament fight vs. Patricky Freire at Bellator X Rizin 2.

A staph infection has forced [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] out of Bellator X Rizin 2.

McKee was set to take on Patricky Freire in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal bout on Saturday, but the former featherweight champion says staff infection in his knee is what caused him to withdraw. A Bellator official told MMA Junkie that McKee will be an alternate in the tournament moving forward.

McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) took to Twitter to release a statement, sharing some graphic images of his knee.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be fighting this weekend in Japan,” McKee said. “To all my Japanese fans, I’ll see you guys soon. And guess what? We will be back in Japan, I promise you that. So I’ll see you guys soon. I appreciate all the support. I ended up catching staph, guys. You know staph, it’s a really bad infection – flesh-eating. It’ll literally put you in the hospital. I had to go to the ER. I’ve been on antibiotics and it’s healing up well, but make sure you take a look, and I’ll show you the process of what I’ve been dealing with. (I have) a couple little holes in my knee, but we’re going to come back stronger and better than ever. Y’all already know what it is: champ sh*t only.”

Stepping in to face Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on short notice is RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto de Souza (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in what will be the new main event.

Bellator X Rizin 2 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. The co-headliner will crown an inaugural Bellator flyweight champion when Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Makoto Shinryu.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.

Major changes to Bellator X Rizin 2: A.J. McKee out; Patricky Freire faces RIZIN champ; Patricio ‘Pitbull’ added

Major changes tweak Bellator X Rizin 2 in Japan, including the removal of A.J. McKee and random addition of Patricio Freire in a new bout.

Saturday’s Bellator x Rizin 2 has been hit with a pair of changes to the lineup during fight week, including the loss of one half of the main event.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], who was set to take on [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal bout, is now out with a medical issue. Stepping in to face Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on short notice is RIZIN lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the new main event, the promotions announced during a joint news conference Wednesday local time.

Details about McKee’s medical issues were not disclosed, but a Bellator official told MMA Junkie he will be an alternate in the tournament moving forward. De Souza is now officially in the Bellator lightweight grand prix, and the bout against Patricky Freire will be five rounds. However, due to the short-notice nature of the change, the bout will be contested at 161 pounds.

In addition to a shift in the headliner, a late addition will see the other “Pitbull,” Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-6 MMA), take on [autotag]Chihiro Suzuki[/autotag] (10-3) in a 154-pound catchweight contest – an additional bout added to the event on just days’ notice. This bout will take place on the RIZIN portion of the event, which follows the five-fight Bellator segment of the card.

Bellator X Rizin 2 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. The co-feature bout will crown an inaugural Bellator flyweight champion, as Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Makoto Shinryu.

With the changes, the Bellator X Rizin 2 lineup includes:

  • Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza – lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu – inaugural flyweight title
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
  • Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe
  • Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.

A.J. McKee on Patricio Freire: ‘I still think we’ve got unfinished business’ with series tied 1-1

A.J. McKee’s focus is on the Bellator lightweight grand prix, but he’s willing to return to featherweight for a Patricio Freire trilogy.

For [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], his story with [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] is still being written.

McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA) have split their two fights against each other, with McKee submitting Freire to win the featherweight grand prix in 2021 and “Pitbull” avenging his loss i to regain his belt in a unanimous decision win.

McKee has since moved up to lightweight, and Freire eventually dropped down to bantamweight. Freire failed in his bid to claim a Bellator title in a third division when he lost to champion Sergio Pettis in June, but that hasn’t changed McKee’s mind on a potential trilogy.

“I wanted Patricio to do good,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “It sucks he took an ‘L.’ Obviously nobody wants to lose, but I still think we’ve got unfinished business – one-one, he was the champ-champ. I’m looking forward to becoming the champ-champ myself, and then maybe I’ll come back down to ’45, and we can fight that trilogy out at 145.”

McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) meets Freire’s brother, former lightweight champion Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA), in the opening round of the 155-pound grand prix at Bellator X Rizin 2 on July 30 near Tokyo.

While his focus is on lightweight, McKee is willing to return  to featherweight to complete his rubber match with Freire or take on any notable challenge.

“I can do a couple more fights maybe at ’45, but for the most part, I’m pretty much done with ’45,” McKee said. “I feel I’ve made a pretty good statement at 145 pounds that the division and, anybody in the world, I know I’m the best, period.

“If anybody wants to test it, then I’m more than willing to do it. I’m more than capable to do it. Other than that, I feel being named the best 145 pounder is hands down. That’s not a question. So, for now, lightweight is my home, and that’s where I’m willing to work to be called the best at that division now.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 22-28)

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 a promotion from May 22-28.

A.J. McKee, Scott Coker agree McKee vs. Patricky Freire perfect fight for Bellator X Rizin 2 in Japan

For the second straight time, Bellator is taking one of its biggest stars to Japan.

For the second straight time, Bellator is taking one of its biggest stars to Japan.

At Bellator X Rizin 2, which was announced Saturday for late July near Tokyo, Bellator president Scott Coker will take former featherweight champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) overseas to fight former lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) in the opening round of the promotion’s ongoing 155-pound grand prix.

Coker said doing that high-profile fight in Japan is a testament to what Bellator wants to do with events there.

“We could have brought this anywhere in the world,” Coker said at a Saturday news conference announcing the event in Tokyo. “We thought about doing this in Los Angeles or doing it in New York, but as (Rizin head Nobuyuki Sakakibara) and I continued our dialogue, we thought this was the perfect fight for Japan.”

McKee won the featherweight title against Freire’s brother Patricio in July 2021, but Freire beat him in April 2022 in their rematch.

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McKee decided to move up to lightweight and after seven years as a pro featherweight, won a pair of decisions at 155 pounds against Spike Carlyle and Roberto de Souza. The latter victory came this past New Year’s Eve in a co-promoted event with Bellator and Rizin in Japan.

Once he was in the tournament and matched up against Patricky Freire for a natural rivalry, Coker said he started to get antsy about when the fight would take place.

“A.J. was calling me every week asking, ‘When am I fighting?’ Coker said. “But we had to wait a month and it worked out for the better. I think the fans in Japan are going to get a great show on July 30.”

McKee said starting the tournament with the former champ and a natural rival is what he wanted. He thinks that will add some sparks to the event.

“I think this couldn’t have been a better matchup to start off the tournament, the world grand prix,” McKee said. “The rivalry between his brother and I, and now (us) leading up to our fight, it’s just awesome. Up until this point, there hasn’t really been a rivalry in my career. Me and my teammates are very cordial and respectful, but when it comes down to getting in that cage and handling business, we will both know what we are going to do to each other.”

Patricky Freire won the vacant lightweight title against Peter Queally in November 2021, but lost it to Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288 a year later. Nurmagomedov is on the opposite side of the bracket, so the first time the McKee-Freire winner will have a shot at the lightweight title would be in the tournament final.

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Video: Bellator lightweight grand prix fighters face off for first time

Take a look as the participants for the Bellator lightweight grand prix came face to fight for the first time.

LOS ANGELES – Bellator is hosting a lightweight grand prix this year, and for the first time Friday, the promotion brought all eight participants together for a news conference, followed by faceoffs.

The tournament kicks off March 10 at Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif., where champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends the title against [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. Also that night, [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).

On May 12 at Bellator Paris, [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. The remaining quarterfinal between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (20-1MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) has yet to be booked for an event date and location.

In the video above, you can watch all the opponents come face to face.

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Bellator announces 8 participants for lightweight grand prix; tournament starts March 10 in San Jose

Eight lightweights will fight for the end rewards of a Bellator lightweight title and a $1 million bonus, beginning in March.

The Bellator lightweight grand prix is official, and so are its eight participants.

While some matchups are still being worked out, the tournament is slated to begin at Bellator 292 on March 10 from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Bellator president Scott Coker announced the news Wednesday on “The MMA Hour.”

After a report Wednesday by OC Register, MMA Junkie confirmed with promotion officials the first two quarterfinal matchups at Bellator 290: champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson, and Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabliy.

This leaves Mansour Barnaoui, Sidney Outlaw, A.J. McKee, Patricky Freire, and Sidney Outlaw left to be matched up.

The lightweight grand prix is the fifth tournament during the Coker era of Bellator, but the first at lightweight. Heavyweight, featherweight, light heavyweight, and bantamweight previously have been featured.

Coker did not rule out the tournament could end by the end of 2023, depending on how the fights and scheduling plays out.

Scroll below to find out more about the eight fighters who earned a shot to compete in the Bellator lightweight grand prix.

A.J. McKee signs multifight deal with Bellator, expected to compete in lightweight grand prix

After much buzz about his contract status, A.J. McKee elects to stay with Bellator.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] is staying with Bellator.

The former Bellator featherweight champion recently signed an exclusive, multifight, multiyear deal with the promotion. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a promotion official following a report Tuesday by Sports Illustrated.

In addition, McKee is expected to be one of the eight participants of the lightweight grand prix. The winner will be the Bellator lightweight champion and win $1 million. No date has been announced for the tournament, but it’s expected to begin sometime in 2023.

McKee (20-1) is one of Bellator’s biggest names. He’s also a home-grown talent, as he’s been with the company since his professional MMA debut and is often used as an example of Bellator’s talent crafting prowess by promotion president Scott Coker

“The Mercenary” was long undefeated, with the height of his perfect run coming in the summer of 2021 when he won the Bellator featherweight grand prix and the $1 million prize with a dethrone of Patricio Freire to become champion. McKee lost a decision in an immediate rematch against “Pitbull” at Bellator 277 in April.

Since, McKee moved up to lightweight and picked up two consecutive unanimous decision wins, with the most recent one coming against Rizin FF champion Roberto de Souza in New Year’s Eve part of a co-promoted event – Rizin FF 40: Bellator vs. Rizin.

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A.J. McKee wants Patricio ‘Pitbull’ trilogy, but prefers Bellator lightweight tournament: ‘This is new land to conquer’

A.J. McKee prefers a spot in the Bellator lightweight tournament over a featherweight title trilogy with Patricio Freire for his next move.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] is a man with many options.

The former Bellator featherweight champion has several big, enticing matchups for his return to the cage – and two different weight classes.

Some are hoping McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) settles his rivalry with featherweight champ Patricio Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA), who beat McKee in April 2022 to take the title back. Others, after seeing McKee in his second outing at lightweight at Rizin FF 40: Bellator vs. Rizin, want to see the former champ take on new lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov.

The fans are not alone in this dilemma. McKee also struggles with what he wants next for his career. Although it’s not an easy choice, he does have options.

“Ego says ‘Pitbull,’ but business says tournament,” McKee told MMA Junkie regarding his next move. “So I’d have to say tournament.

“I’ve already put the offer on the table for Bellator with Patricio ‘Pitbull.’ I told Patricio I’d love to fight him, but it’s not something I want to continuously reach for. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I would obviously would love to fight him again. That would be ideal for his legacy, for my legacy.

“It’s a game: 1 and 1. Everyone wants to see who the best is, especially for myself moving up a division. I don’t mind. There’s another title. There’s other people. This is new land to conquer for me, and that’s what I’m happy about.”

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McKee is coming off a unanimous decision win over Rizin FF lightweight champion Roberto de Souza on New Year’s Eve. The contest marked his second fight at 155 pounds.

In the long run, McKee envisions his career at lightweight, but he does think he can have two extra years at 145 pounds.

“The weight cuts are good,” McKee said regarding his experience at lightweight. “I’m cutting 10 (pounds) the week of, so the weight cut wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad – 155 is nice.

“I’m getting used to moving around with the big boys, I’m training with all the 170 pounders, so I feel strong. I go move with them, and then I go train with the little guys to keep up with their speed, and it keeps me right between the two. It’s nice. I like 155, but I’ll go back down to 145. That’s always a possibility.”

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