Prior to walking to the cage at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on
Saturday night, A.J. McKee
envisioned a quick finish of Patricio
Freire in the
Bellator 263 headliner.
“Honestly, I dreamt the fight,” McKee said at Saturday’s post-fight
press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).
“I knew I won the fight. I prayed about it and the same night I had
a vision. So I knew I had a victory but it wasn’t the dream that I
had which was peculiar. Now, maybe that’s the 155-pound title that
I saw. I don’t know. I’m just enjoying this moment, man. I knew it
was going to come.”
McKee made short work of the man who many regarded as the greatest
fighter in Bellator history. He stunned Freire with a head kick,
dropped him near the fence with a flurry of punches and after a
premature celebration, locked in a guillotine choke which
eventually rendered the Brazilian unconscious at the 1:57 mark of
the first round.
“Man, to do it the way I did it, I said I was going to do it in
stylistic fashion,” McKee said. “Done in one. When I rocked him, I
was just like, ‘That’s it.’ I just knew it. After the head kick, I
hit him with that uppercut and I just saw him quit. He didn’t need
anymore. But like the ref said, ‘Don’t stop punching until I tell
you to.’”
Now 18-0, with all of those victories coming under the Bellator
banner, McKee believes his days at featherweight are numbered.
However, he’s willing to make what is becoming an increasingly
difficult weight cut if the right opportunity arises. McKee says
he’ll even put up the $1 million prize he received for winning the
Bellator featherweight grand prix.
“Being at 145 pounds isn’t the easiest,” McKee said. “Maybe we get
some superfights going but I’m pretty much done with the division
at 145 pounds, so hop up to 155 pounds. He’s [Freire] the best
145-pounder – was the best. I’ve pretty much been saying it. Now
people are seeing it and believing it. I am the best 145-pounder in
the world whether it’s UFC, ONE FC, PFL, I don’t care who it
is.
“I’ve got $1 million cash in my bank and I’d put it up against
anybody else. I’m sure Showtime and Bellator, they’ll match it.
Let’s do some superfights. Let’s get some big stuff going. Let’s
change this sport, like I’ve been saying. Let’s do it. Let’s unify
these belts.”
While Bellator has engaged in some cross promotion with Rizin
Fighting Federation in recent years, competing against the best
featherweights in other organizations — particularly the UFC —
remains farfetched. If facing the best in the UFC was a
possibility, McKee already has an opponent in mind. Regardless of
what the future holds, McKee has a clear vision of his standing in
the sport.
“I would say Max
Holloway,” McKee said of the former UFC champ. “That was always
my dream fight, superfight, as a kid. I’ve watched him just pick
apart people. But at the end fo the day, I’m the best 145-pounder
in the world. I don’t care who it is. I’m going to show up and show
out every time.”
McKee didn’t entirely rule out further appearances at
featherweight, but there’s already an appealing reason to move up:
a rematch with Freire, who is also Bellator’s reigning lightweight
king.
“It depends on who steps up to the line,” he said. “Health is key.
Making 145 pounds, I can do it, but as I get older, as I get
bigger, as I get stronger, as I become more of a man, obviously
it’s going to get harder and harder and harder. I’ve been wanting
to move up. COVID, so forth, things have come into play where it’s
kept me here longer than expected, but God’s timing is
perfect.”