Manny Muro – Syndication Server

Bellator 263 post-event facts: A.J. McKee lights up record books with title win

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 263, which saw A.J. McKee become an undefeated champion with a main event win.

Arguably the biggest event in Bellator history went down Saturday with Bellator 263, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and saw a title change hands in the main event.

The promotion’s 16-man featherweight grand prix came to a conclusion in the headliner when [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) dethroned champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) by first-round submission to start a new era in the division and take home a $1 million prize.

For more on the numbers behind McKee’s title win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 263.

Bellator 263 results: Usman Nurmagomedov dispatches of Manny Muro with body shot

Cousin of Khabib, Usman Nurmagomedov kept his unbeaten record alive.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] entered Bellator 263 a heavy betting favorite, and quickly showed why.

Cousin of former UFC champion Khabib, Usman Nurmagomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) finished [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) with a knee to the body and follow-up punches at 3:30 of Round 1.

Bellator 263 took place Saturday at The Forum. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the opening round, Nurmagomedov dragged an aggressive Muro to the mat early where he worked to get a submission from the back. After Muro worked his way back to the feet, the two fighters engaged in the clinch.

After some adjusting for position, Nurmagomedov drilled Muro’s body with a knee that dropped the American to the canvas face-first. As Muro covered up in pain, Nurmagomedov landed a series of punches to his downed opponent before the referee stepped in.

Usman Nurmagomedov, take a bow 👏

We are LIVE on @SHOSports with #Bellator263👇https://t.co/TbKTQ7lKsu pic.twitter.com/ZZ6rwSqpMB

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021

With the win, Nurmagomedov remains undefeated. The victory comes after a successful promotional debut at Bellator 255 in April when he defeated “Magic” Mike Hamel via unanimous decision. In his 13 professional victories, 11 have come via finish with eight knockouts/TKOs and three submissions.

As for Muro, the longtime JacksonWink professional had a three-fight winning streak snapped, which included back-to-back victories over Nick Newell and Devin Powell.

Full up-to-the-minute Bellator 263 results include:

Usman Nurmagomedov def. Manny Muro via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 3:30
Islam Mamedov def. Brent Primus via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Goiti Yamauchi def. Chris Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:03
Vanessa Porto def. Ilara Joanne via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Daniel Carey via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:57
Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jonathan Quiroz via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:21
Joshua Jones def. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:15
Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:25
Brian Moore def. Jordan Winski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

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Bellator 263 salaries: Patricio Freire, A.J. McKee to pocket $1.4 million combined

The California State Athletic Commission released a full list of disclosed Bellator 263 fighter payouts to MMA Junkie ahead of the event.

LOS ANGELES – The Bellator 263 main event loser will take home a six-figure payday with the winner earning seven figures.

Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] is set to make $250,000 in disclosed show money while [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] will pocket $150,000 in disclosed show pay. The winner will be awarded an additional $1,000,000 – the prize that comes with winning the promotion’s 145-pound grand prix.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Following the conclusion of Friday’s official weigh-ins at the host hotel, MMA Junkie acquired a list of disclosed payouts from the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings.

The full list of Bellator 263 disclosed payouts (show/win) include:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. E.T., Showtime)

Patricio Freire: ($250,000/$1,000,000) vs. A.J. McKee ($150,000/$1,000,000)
[autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] ($26,000/$26,000) vs. [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] ($61,000/$61,000)
[autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] ($26,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] ($30,000/$30,000)
[autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000) vs. [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] ($50,000/$0)
[autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] ($31,000/$31,000) vs. [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] ($32,000/$32,000)

PRELIMS (7 p.m. E.T., MMA Junkie)

[autotag]Ilara Joanne[/autotag] ($13,000/$13,000) vs. [autotag]Vanessa Porto[/autotag] ($15,000/$15,000)
[autotag]Daniel Carey[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000) vs. [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] ($25,000/$25,000)
[autotag]Khasan Magomedsharipov[/autotag] ($25,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Jonathan Quiroz[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000)
[autotag]Johnny Cisneros[/autotag] ($4,000/$4,000) vs. [autotag]Joshua Jones[/autotag] ($4,000/$4,000)
[autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag] ($50,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] ($70,000/$0)
[autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] ($25,000/$25,000) vs. [autotag]Jordan Winski[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNByfW9aZw

Bellator 263 predictions: Who’s picking A.J. McKee to take Patricio Freire’s title?

Check out our staff members’ picks for Bellator 263, featuring a featherweight title fight between champ Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee.

	Freire vs. McKee	Burnell vs. Sanchez	Muro vs. Nurmagomedov	Mamedov vs. Primus	Gonzalez vs. Yamauchi
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 111-66	McKee (64%)	Burnell (52%)	Nurmagomedov (96%)	Mamedov (65%)	Yamauchi (74%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 112-65 2018 Champion	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 109-68	McKee	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 109-68	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 108-69 2020 Champion	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 107-70 2014 Champion	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 106-71	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 106-71	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 105-72	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Primus	Yamauchi
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 105-72 2017 Champion	Freire	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Primus	Gonzalez
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 104-73	Freire	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Yamauchi
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 103-74	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 100-77	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 36-25	McKee	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
BetMGM Betting Favorites	Freire -115	Burnell -125	Nurmagomedov -1100	Mamedov -200	Yamauchi -165

Bellator makes its long-awaited return to the road this week with the featherweight title on the line at the top of the bill.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, lightweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-4 MMA, 20-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 17-0 BMMA) in a fight that doubles as the featherweight grand prix final. It’s nearly a pick’em fight at the betting window, where Freire is at -115 at BetMGM with the comeback on McKee at -105. Not surprisingly, our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are torn in their picks, too – Freire has the smallest possible edge at 7-6.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is a slight favorite at -125 against two-time featherweight title challenger [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA). And like the close picks in the main event, it’s tight here, too. Burnell has a 7-6 lead from our pickers.

Our lone unanimous pick should come as little surprise. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a massive 11-1 favorite against [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] (12-6 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), and he’s got a 13-0 shutout in the picks.

[autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] (19-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a 2-1 favorite against former lightweight champion [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA), and he’s got a big 11-2 picks lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) at lightweight. Yamauchi is the betting favorite at -165, but Gonzalez bucked the trend with our pickers at 11-2.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, McKee (64 percent), Burnell (52 percent), Nurmagomedov (96 percent), Mamedov (65 percent) and Yamauchi (62 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Bellator 263 media day faceoffs video: Things get testy in one fight

Check out the four fights that were featured to faceoff at Bellator 263 media day in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES – Bellator 263 media day took place Wednesday at the host hotel, and MMA Junkie was on the scene for the festivities. After fielding questions from reporters, the fighters came together for faceoffs.

Featured on the dais were [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] vs. former lightweight champion [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag], and [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag].

You can watch watch the highlights of those faceoffs in the video above.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

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Patricio Freire vs. A.J. McKee set for grand prix final at Bellator 263 in Los Angeles

One of the biggest fights in Bellator history is finally set.

The final leg of the Bellator featherweight grand prix is set.

What started out as a tournament with 16 competitors has been whittled down to two. Having dominated their respective sides of the bracket, featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-4 MMA, 20-4 BMMA) and undefeated rising star [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 17-0 BMMA) will square off in the Bellator 263 main event.

The event takes place July 31 at The Forum in Los Angeles with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The promotion officially announced the matchup and event details at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday, which featured both main event participants and their coaches. MMA Fighting was the first to report the date of the matchup.

Bellator also confirmed [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA), which were previously reported by MMA Junkie.

Additionally, the promotion announced a lightweight matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov cousin [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] (12-6 MMA, 2-0 BMMA).

The tournament began in September 2019 with 16 fighters. Freire defeated Juan Archuleta by decision, Pedro Carvalho by knockout, and Emmanuel Sanchez by submission to advance. McKee, meanwhile, finished Georgi Karakhanyan by knockout, Derek Campos by submission, and Darrion Caldwell by submission.

Now the two powerhouses will collide, with the 145-pound belt, a tournament title, and a $1 million prize on the line in what some are viewing as the biggest fight in promotion history.

The Bellator 263 lineup includes:

Champion Patricio Freire vs. A.J. McKee – grand prix final for the featherweight title
Magomed Magomedov vs. Raufeon Stots
Mads Burnell vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Manny Muro
Kiefer Crosbie vs. Georgi Karakhanyan

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Manny Muro looking to solidify himself on Bellator roster, fight more frequently

Manny Muro spoke to reporters following his unanimous decision win over Devin Powell at Bellator 252.

[autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] extended his winning streak to three when he defeated Devin Powell by unanimous decision at Bellator 252 on Thursday.

Following his win, Muro (12-6 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) spoke to reporters on wanting to fight more frequently, making a run for the title, what it means to represent Native Americans, and more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 252 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.