Bellator 236 – Page 7 – Syndication Server

Derek Campos doesn’t think A.J. McKee is all he’s cracked up to be, and he plans on proving as much at Bellator 236.

[autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag] doesn’t think [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] is all he’s cracked up to be, and he plans on proving as much at Bellator 236.

McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA) has put together a run that’s turned him into one of the top rising stars in the sport. He’s undefeated through his career, and despite 15 bouts, hasn’t seen much in the way of adversity. That was especially true in his opening-round bout in the Bellator featherweight grand prix, which he won against Georgi Karakhanyan in a mere eight seconds.

Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) isn’t on board with McKee being the next big thing, though. The grizzled veteran specifically picked a matchup with McKee for the quarterfinals of the single-elimination tournament, which continues on Saturday at Bellator 236.

“Without a doubt I believe I am going to be A.J.’s biggest test,” Campos told MMA Junkie. “He’s fought a lot of guys, but who are they? The only two guys that come to mind that he’s fought are Justin Lawrence and Pat Curran. I’m going to be the guy that derails A.J.’s hype train.

“You look at the difference between the other guys he’s fought then Lawrence and Curran. Totally a night-and-day difference. Those guys are superior athletes and fighters and A.J. was able to barely get by with them. He’s got holes in his game, I see weaknesses I’m looking to capitalize on.”

Bellator 236 takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. The main card, which featured Campos vs. McKee in the co-main event, streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Campos punched his ticket to the tourney’s second round when he beat former Bellator champ Daniel Straus at Bellator 226 in September. Given the structure of the tournament, he was allowed to pick his opponent for the next round, and went with McKee.

It’s a matchup others in the field were seemingly not chomping at the bit to get, but Campos feels he has a strong path to victory.

“I want to grind him out,” Campos said. “I want to take him to deep waters, I want to put him in the most uncomfortable positions I can put him in and I want to see where his heart is. I want to break his will, I want to be the one that beats him and takes away that zero on his record.”

With Campos vs. McKee being the first fight in the second round of the tournament, the winner will likely see a sizable break waiting for the semifinals to commence. 2019 is the first time since 2013 that Campos has fought more than twice in a year, though, so he said he’s not overly concerned about a break.

“There’s potential for a bit of a layoff after this, but I will put it to good use trying to heal up and make good with my body,” Campos said. “But first I plan to go in there and handle business. People are going to count me out here and they’re going to count me out of the rest of the tournament, but that’s what I like. That’s what motivates me. I like to be the underdog and regardless, I’m going to go get that title.”

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Bellator Hawaii preview video: What to expect from doubleheader in Honolulu

MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom runs down what to watch for as Bellator returns to Honolulu, where Ilima-Lei Macfarlane headlines the weekend.

HONOLULU – Bellator returns to Hawaii for the second consecutive year with another two-night doubleheader.

On Friday, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett makes his anticipated promotional debut when he takes on Ronny Markes in the main event of “Bellator 235: Salute the Troops.”

Then on Saturday, Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will defend her flyweight title against Kate Jackson in the Bellator 236 headliner. The co-main event features the continuation of the featherweight grand prix, as undefeated A.J. McKee meets Derek Campos in the tournament’s first quarterfinal.

For a rundown of what to watch for and key storylines heading into the weekend, watch the preview view above with MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom and KHON’s Rob DeMello.

Bellator 236 (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET) is the second of the promotion’s back-to-back events at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Bellator 235 on Friday (Paramount/DAZN, 10 p.m. ET) is the promotion’s second year of a “Salute the Troops” event in conjunction with the USO and will be attended exclusively by military members from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu.

Bellator 236 weigh-in results and live video stream (2 p.m. ET)

Check out the results from the official Bellator 236 fighter weigh-ins.

HONOLULU – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday’s early and official Bellator 236 fighter weigh-ins, which kick off at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT, 9 a.m. local time).

The early weigh-ins take place the Bellator host hotel in Honolulu and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 4:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local time) in the Tapa 1 Ballroom at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu.

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Among those weighing in are women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA), who fights in front of her home fans against challenger Kate Jackson (11-3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA), and Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) and A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA), who meet in a quarterfinal bout in the ongoing featherweight grand prix.

The full Bellator 236 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (DAZN 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane () vs. Kate Jackson () – for women’s flyweight title
Derek Campos () vs. A.J. McKee () – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
Jason Jackson () vs. Kiichi Kunimoto ()
Bruna Ellen () vs. Juliana Velasquez ()
Cheyden Leialoha () vs. Raufeon Stots ()
Nainoa Dung () vs. Zach Zane ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 8:30 p.m. ET)

Keoni Diggs () vs. Scotty Hao ()
Spencer Higa () vs. Kai Kamaka III ()
Dustin Barca () vs. Brandon Pieper ()
Kealii Kanekoa () vs. Ben Wilhelm ()
Kaylan Gorospe () vs. Swayne Lunasco ()
Chas Dunhour () vs. Nate Yoshimura ()

Video: Watch Friday’s Bellator 236 ceremonial weigh-ins live on MMA Junkie at 4:30 p.m. ET

Check out a live video stream of the Bellator 236 ceremonial weigh-ins.

HONOLULU – Bellator 236 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMAjunkie at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT, 11:30 a.m. local time).

The weigh-ins take place in the Tapa 1 Ballroom at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official Bellator 236 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

Bellator 236: Juliana Velasquez media day interview

Bellator 236: Cheyden Leialoha media day interview

Bellator 236 breakdown: Can Derek Campos pull upset, end A.J. McKee’s unbeaten run?

How will the first featherweight grand prix quarterfinal fight play out? MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom walks you through the possibilities.

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MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the co-main event for Bellator 236.

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA)

Staple info:

Height: 5’10” Age: 24 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 73.5″
Last fight: KO win over Georgi Karakhanyan (Sept. 28, 2019)
Camp: Team Body Shop (California)
Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing
Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:

+ Wrestling base
+ 6 KO victories
+ 4 submission wins
+ 5 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Dynamic striking ability
^ Good shot selection
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Good wrestling ability
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Solid transitional grappler
+ Slick submission skills

Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA)

Staple info:

Height: 5’9″ Age: 31 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68.5″
Last fight: Decision win over Daniel Straus (Sept. 7, 2019)
Camp: Mohler MMA (Texas)
Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:

+ Regional MMA title
+ 6 KO victories
+ 5 submissions win
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Heavy hooks and crosses
^ Puts together punches well
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ Dirty boxing, knees, etc.
+ Solid wrestling ability
+ Serviceable transitional grappler
^ Good positional awareness

Point of interest: Slugging vs. styling

The co-main event for Bellator 236 features a fun installment of the featherweight grand prix, as a heavy-handed slugger takes on a stylish prospect on the rise.

A hard-hitting hombre, [autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag] is no stranger to the heat of a firefight. Although he’s shown the ability to work behind a guard and counter when pressed, Campos is a come-forward, blood and guts fighter in almost every sense of the word.

The native of Lubbock, Texas is more than happy to prove his medal in the pocket by exchanging hooks, but has quietly sharpened his brand of brawling as of late. Now, it is not uncommon to see Campos shift off of his power hand coming forward, as he will also shift to southpaw for safe distancing when finishing combinations.

Campos has had plenty of experience striking with southpaws (having mixed results), so I’m curious as to how he intends on dealing with [autotag]AJ McKee[/autotag].

A home-grown Bellator product and one of (if not the) top prospects in MMA today, McKee has been able to keep his record unblemished since making his professional debut with the promotion. Primarily operating out of a southpaw stance, McKee makes plenty of hay with his left hand – both coming forward and off the counter.

The 24-year-old talent is also not beyond working from both sides, as he seems to readily switch his stance should the situation call for it. And when feeling in stride, McKee will attach kicks or knees to his combinations, seemingly improvising around what he sees his opposition doing.

That said, Campos is the kind of fighter who commands respect for the duration of the entire fight time, which makes me wonder how McKee will approach this challenge.

Next point of interest: Grappling entanglements

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Tag: Bellator 236

Bellator 236: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane media day interview

Bellator 236: Kiichi Kunimoto media day interview

Derek Campos plans to expose A.J. McKee’s flaws, derail ‘hype train’ at Bellator 236