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AJ McKee bloodies & batters Spike Carlyle to dominant decision win – Bellator 286 Highlights

AJ McKee, Spike Carlyle AJ McKee put on a dominant display to defeat Spike Carlyle in the co-main event of Bellator 286. Former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee marked his return to action against Spike Carlyle at The Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. He went into the bout looking to get back on the winning column after […]

AJ McKee put on a dominant display to defeat Spike Carlyle in the co-main event of Bellator 286.

Former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee marked his return to action against Spike Carlyle at The Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. He went into the bout looking to get back on the winning column after the only loss of his career when he lost his title to Patricio Freire, who headlined the same card in April.

Carlyle came out firing from the get-go and McKee responded with as much pressure. They traded strikes early in the bout before getting into grappling exchanges. McKee got going as the contest continued with Carlyle struggling to keep up with the pace. He had Carlyle in trouble on multiple occasions but Carlyle managed to push it and survive till the end.

AJ McKee defeated Spike Carlyle after going the distance by unanimous decision.

Below, catch the highlights from AJ McKee vs. Spike Carlyle

Alexander Volkanovski “Chuckled” At AJ McKee’s Title Loss, Echoes Call For Double Champ Status

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski chuckled at the news of AJ McKee losing his title earlier this month. As one of the most dominant champions in the division, Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as one of the featherweight greats of all time. ‘The Great’ put on a commanding performance in his last outing against […]

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski chuckled at the news of AJ McKee losing his title earlier this month.

As one of the most dominant champions in the division, Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as one of the featherweight greats of all time. ‘The Great’ put on a commanding performance in his last outing against Chan Sung Jung ‘The Korean Zombie’ to win by TKO when referee Herb Dean was forced to intervene and put an end to the lopsided competition.

While most members of the community were impressed by Volkanovski’s performance, one individual who was not was the former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee, who defeated Patricio Freire by a guillotine choke technical submission to win the belt last July. The 27-year-old American faced ‘Pitbull’ in a rematch earlier this month that saw him lose his title strap and get the first defeat of his career by unanimous decision at Bellator 277.

McKee “wasn’t impressed” with Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 273 and lambasted the Aussie fighter for not responding to his call-outs for a cross-promotional fight.

Speaking to The Post at his team’s new Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA gym in Phuket, Alexander Volkanovski shared his thoughts on the call-out.

“I didn’t see it because I was on the [victory] tour and I was busy. But yeah, the only reason I knew about it is because people said he was saying this and that, and then I got told he lost,” Volkanovski said. “It just makes me chuckle in a sense, but at the same time, you can’t hate on these guys or what that’s a part of. They want to hype things up and build themselves up. It’s promotion, it’s marketing, it’s how some people approach it.

“So you can’t hate them for it. It’s just a job they think they need to do, but sometimes it makes you laugh when things don’t go to plan when they run their mouth like that.”

The current featherweight king understands McKee’s reasoning behind the statements and commented on whether he believes a cross-promotion bout makes sense.

“Cross-promotion is hard to think about,” said Volkanovski. “I don’t think it will ever happen, so I just worry about what I need to. But if it does, I’ll love it.

“I’m a fan of the sport. I have all my social media, they’re involved with MMA, and a lot of these things come up. Whenever there’s a big card or promotion I like to tune in and watch.”

Alexander Volkanovski restates call for double champ status

On a 21-fight win streak after UFC 273, Alexander Volkanovski is lapping the division beating out competition like Max Holloway more than once to stay at the top of the featherweight food chain. The pound-for-pound number two reinforced his call for a UFC lightweight title shot as he eyes entry into the exclusive ‘champ-champ’ club.

He has not made his plans to move up a weight class a reality yet and insisted he will wait to see how the upcoming fight between champion Charles Oliveira and challenger Justin Gaethje plays out.

“I’d love it. We’ve got to see if it can work and the timing and everything like that, but it’s something I think is gonna be in the near future,” he said. “It would be great to be my next fight, but if I have to wait long for it and wait for this or that to happen, I’d rather fight and do that later on.

“I plan to hold this belt for a long time, so the move up can be whenever. But I just want it to be soon because I feel like I’ve earned it.”

Do you want to see Alexander Volkanovski move up a weight class and take on the champion?

Coker Not Optimistic About McKee/Freire Trilogy Despite “Close” Rematch

Despite the tight nature of the featherweight title rematch between A.J. McKee and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, Bellator President Scott Coker doesn’t believe a trilogy fight is “guaranteed.” At Bellator 277 last Friday, two 145-pound titans collided for the second time in a year. Last July, McKee secured a seat at the global featherweight table when…

Continue Reading Coker Not Optimistic About McKee/Freire Trilogy Despite “Close” Rematch at MMA News.

Despite the tight nature of the featherweight title rematch between A.J. McKee and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, Bellator President Scott Coker doesn’t believe a trilogy fight is “guaranteed.”

At Bellator 277 last Friday, two 145-pound titans collided for the second time in a year. Last July, McKee secured a seat at the global featherweight table when he became the first man to defeat “Pitbull” since 2016. After five defenses, the Brazilian’s reign came to a close thanks to a guillotine choke at Bellator 263.

Off the back of his championship and Grand Prix glory, and having extended his perfect record to 18-0, McKee called out the top featherweights in the UFC and claimed to be the world’s best at 145 pounds.

While he had a chance to further support that sentiment by adding another blemish to Freire’s impressive résumé, McKee fell short in their rematch, losing a tight decision on the judges’ scorecards. In doing so, the 27-year-old had the 0 on his record removed.

Following the event, promotional kingpin Coker gave his take on what’s since been a highly-debated contest and result. Like many, the South Korean-born American labeled the Bellator 277 main event as “very close.”

“Listen, the judges saw it the way they saw it and he’s the new champ,” Coker said. “As far as I’m concerned, he deserves it. I think it was a very close fight. It was a technical fight. And it’s not my job to judge – it’s for the judges and the state athletic commission to work that out, and that’s what happened. That’s what you saw. You saw the judges call the fight the way they did. I did think it was very close. I was sitting around some of my friends and said, ‘What did you think?’ Half of them said A.J., half of them said ‘Pitbull.’ It was very close.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

Coker Unsure What’s Next For McKee & Freire

With their rivalry sitting level at one win apiece, it would seem a trilogy bout is the logical next step, especially given how close the rematch was. However, with McKee expressing a desire to transition to lightweight, it doesn’t appear to be that simple.

Coker shared that sentiment post-fight, claiming that while he’d love to a book a third date between the Brazilian and the American, it’s far from guaranteed.

With that in mind, the 59-year-old named 17-1 featherweight Ádám Borics, who’s riding a four-fight win streak in the Bellator cage, as a potential challenger for the first defense of Freire’s third reign on the 145-pound throne.

“I’m going to go back and watch this fight and talk to my team,” Coker said. “But as much as we’d love to see a rematch, let’s see how that goes. I can’t really answer that question. If all parties want to do that, we might do it. But it’s not guaranteed. Adam Borics looked great against Mads Burnell (at Bellator 276 in March) — he had a great performance. He had an amazing fight, and we’ll see.”

Would you like to see A.J. McKee and Patricio Freire share the cage for a third time?

Continue Reading Coker Not Optimistic About McKee/Freire Trilogy Despite “Close” Rematch at MMA News.

Jackson: Pitbull/McKee Was The Worst MMA Robbery I’ve Ever Seen

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been involved in the sport of MMA for over two full decades, and he claims he witnessed something Friday night that he never had before. At Bellator 277, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire reclaimed featherweight gold and handed A.J. McKee his first career loss in one unanimous, yet controversial split-decision victory. Just how…

Continue Reading Jackson: Pitbull/McKee Was The Worst MMA Robbery I’ve Ever Seen at MMA News.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been involved in the sport of MMA for over two full decades, and he claims he witnessed something Friday night that he never had before.

At Bellator 277, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire reclaimed featherweight gold and handed A.J. McKee his first career loss in one unanimous, yet controversial split-decision victory. Just how controversial was it? Enough for Quinton Jackson to consider it history-making from a personal standpoint.

“From my view and my personal opinion, I think that as the worst robbery I’ve ever seen in MMA…ever,” Jackson said simply.

Jackson then called on his own personal experience as a point of reference for all-time robberies.

“I lost my belt due to a robbery, and I think this robbery was way worse than that one. And it was a unanimous decision? I’m not taking away from Pitbull. He fought a great fight. He fought a smart fight. But AJ’s a champ. You have to beat the champ to be the champ. And I just don’t feel like Pitbull did enough to beat the champion, to get the win, to get the belt. He know he didn’t win that fight.”

By deduction, it would seem that Jackson is referring to his 2008 unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin that saw “Rampage” drop the UFC light heavyweight championship.

History in the Making: Forrest Griffin defies the odds and becomes UFC Light Heavyweight Champion - MMAmania.com — Via UFC

Jackson says he could see two rounds going to Pitbull, but nevertheless, he would love to know more about those who are scoring the fights if they could award the entire fight to Freire.

“Who are these judges? What’s up with these judges?” asked Jackson. “This kid is undefeated. The kid is undefeated, and he’s the champion. And you have him lose a unanimous decision? It was the worst robbery I’ve ever seen in MMA…

“I don’t remember seeing a robbery worse than this because the kid was undefeated. That’s his legacy you talkin’ about, right? And he was the champion. And you look at the stats, the (punching) stats and the scoring stats, he outscored him on everything. It was a pretty bad robbery. You guys have to go back and watch it.”

Jackson acknowledged that he has a personal relationship with the McKee family and that he has known A.J. since he (McKee) was a child. Still, he maintains that he’s not the type of person to be biased when making such proclamations.

McKee’s reaction as the official decision was announced portrayed a fighter who felt very much wronged by the judges. However, the odds of a rematch are somewhat unlikely considering the fact that McKee has stated he would prefer to move up and compete at lightweight henceforth.

Do you think Patricio Pitbull’s victory over A.J. McKee at Bellator 277 was a robbery?

Continue Reading Jackson: Pitbull/McKee Was The Worst MMA Robbery I’ve Ever Seen at MMA News.

Patricio Freire: “If A.J. McKee wants a trilogy fight, it has to be at featherweight”, Calls out Alexander Volkanovski

After an eight-month break from his last bout, Patricio Freire won the featherweight belt back from A.J. McKee with no plans to relinquish it again in the near future. In July 2021, Patricio Freire lost his featherweight strap to A.J. McKee by submission via a guillotine choke. This past Friday, Freire avenged his loss to […]

After an eight-month break from his last bout, Patricio Freire won the featherweight belt back from A.J. McKee with no plans to relinquish it again in the near future.

In July 2021, Patricio Freire lost his featherweight strap to A.J. McKee by submission via a guillotine choke. This past Friday, Freire avenged his loss to McKee and reclaimed his championship belt via unanimous decision at Bellator 277. ‘Pitbull’ was a considerable underdog going into the fight and managed to hand McKee the first loss of his professional career.

Both fighters put on a show for the fans in a closely-contested affair that ultimately saw Freire get his hand raised. Freire scored 49-46 on one judge’s scorecard while he got a pair of 48-47 from the other two judges.

At Bellator 277 post-fight news conference, Patricio Freire said, “MMA is a tough sport. To be defeated is normal. I don’t like it. Nobody likes it. I just went home, trained harder and smarter, and came back. That’s it: Focus.”

What’s next for Patricio Freire?

With the rivalry between Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee tied at one and one, many speculated a trilogy bout will be on the cards next. McKee stated that he would only consider the third fight with Freire if it happens at lightweight since he intends to move up to that division.

Freire made his feelings clear about staying at the 145-pound division which is the only weight class he’s willing to give a shot at the title to McKee.

“He’s tough – he’s very good. But the king is here,” Freire told MMA Junkie. “The featherweight division is my division. I fought at lightweight (before) because of Michael Chandler (and our rivalry). My brother has the belt (at lightweight). I don’t care about that division. If he wants to fight me again, he has to come to featherweight. That’s it.”

While there are fighters like Adam Borics and former McKee teammate Aaron Pico for Freire to compete with at lightweight, he called for a cross-promotion match with the UFC against their featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“If Dana White has some balls, let’s put champion vs. champion. That’s my goal,” Freire said. “(But) I don’t care who’s next. I’m going to kick all their asses.”

Would you like to see Patricio Freire fight Alexander Volkanovski?

Bellator 277 Results: AJ Mckee vs. Patricio Pitbull 2

Lowkick MMA will be bringing you LIVE Bellator 277: AJ McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull 2 results throughout the night (Fri. Apr. 15, 2022) from the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. The main event of the night will be a rematch between two of the top featherweights in the world, Champion AJ Mckee and #1 […]

Lowkick MMA will be bringing you LIVE Bellator 277: AJ McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull 2 results throughout the night (Fri. Apr. 15, 2022) from the SAP Center in San Jose, CA.

The main event of the night will be a rematch between two of the top featherweights in the world, Champion AJ Mckee and #1 ranked Patricio Pitbull.
Ten months removed from a contest that shockingly ended in under two minutes when AJ Mckee rocked and then submitted Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 263, the rematch is set for two of the most polarizing fighters in the promotion.

Pitbull has previously held the featherweight title twice and looks eager to regain the gold he lost back in July. He also boasts an impressive seven title defenses and two Bellator tournament victories. Mckee, however, is making his own case to be one of the Bellator greats. Getting his professional start in Bellator, Mckee has accumulated an imposing professional MMA record of 18-0.

The main event is not the only title fight on the card, as Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov takes on Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson in the co-main event. Coined as the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix final, the winner will not only receive the Light Heavyweight Championship, but also a cash prize of 1 million dollars.

The undercard also features a pair of interesting fights as #4 ranked Featherweight Aaron Pico takes on Bellator newcomer Adli Edwards in a 150-pound catchweight contest. Opening the card, #5 ranked Heavyweight Tim Johnson looks to slug it out with #4 ranked Linton Vassell.

Main Card (Showtime/BBC Iplayer – 7pm pt)

Featherweight World Championship – C AJ Mckee (18-0) vs. #1 Patricio Pitbull (15-5)

Results:

Light Heavyweight Bout World Grand Prix Final – C Vadim Nemkov vs. #1 Corey Anderson (16-5)

Results:

150-Pound Contract Weight Bout – #4 Aaron Pico (9-3) vs. Aldi Edwards (9-1)

Results –

Heavyweight Bout – #5 Tim Johnson (15-8) vs. #4 Linton Vassell (22-8, 1 NC)

Results:

Preliminary Card (Bellator Youtube/Showtime Youtube/Pluto TV – 4pm pt)

Heavyweight Bout – #7 Tyrell Fortune (11-2, 1 NC) vs. Rakim Cleveland (21-14-1)

Results:

Light Heavyweight Bout – Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (18-7-1) vs. Rafael Carvalho (16-6)

Results:

140-Pound Contract Weight Bout – Gaston Bolanos (5-3) vs. Daniel Carey (7-5)

Results:

Welterweight Bout – #9 Kyle Crutchmer (8-1) vs. Michael Lombardo (12-2, 1NC)

Results:

Bantamweight Bout – Bobby Seronio III (1-0) vs. Calob Ramirez (1-1)

Results:

Welterweight Bout – Tyson Miller (2-0) vs. Rhalan Gracie (0-3)

Results:

Flyweight Bout – Edwin De Los Santos (1-0) vs. Alberto Mendez (0-0,1NC)

Results:

Featherweight Bout – Socrates Hernandez (0-1) vs. Rogelio Luna (Pro Debut)

Results:

Featherweight Bout – Laird Anderson (1-0) vs. JT Donaldson (4-5)

Results:

Light Heavyweight Bout – Theo Haig (Pro Debut) vs. Alan Benson (1-2)

Results: