Tag: AJ McKee

Nate Diaz, AJ McKee Involved In Paul/Woodley Scuffle

Nate DiazUFC welterweight star Nate Diaz and Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee were involved in a near-brawl at the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 ceremonial weigh-ins in Tampa, FL. Members of Diaz’s team got involved with McKee and others during one of the faceoffs, with water bottles flying. It’s unclear if anyone was hurt in […]

Nate Diaz

UFC welterweight star Nate Diaz and Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee were involved in a near-brawl at the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 ceremonial weigh-ins in Tampa, FL.

Members of Diaz’s team got involved with McKee and others during one of the faceoffs, with water bottles flying. It’s unclear if anyone was hurt in the scuffle, but tensions were high before security personnel quickly intervened.

Diaz is there in support of his teammate, Chris Avila, who faces Anthony Taylor; who is one of McKee’s teammates. Taylor and Avila have gone back-and-forth on social media and at the pre-fight press conference and is a rematch of an earlier fight between them in MMA.

Nate Diaz And AJ McKee’s Teams Nearly Brawled At Weigh-Ins

Check out a clip of the chaos, courtesy of BroBible.

McKee was escorted out of the venue while Diaz was still allowed to walk side-by-side with Avila during the weigh-in festivities.

It’s unclear what ultimately led to the chaotic scene, but tensions have been high all week between the two sides. McKee and Diaz are both no stranger to pre-fight brawls as well.

McKee nearly got into a full-on fistfight with Patricio “Pitbull” Freire before their Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix final earlier this year. Diaz has been known to up the ante with pre-fight scraps with Conor McGregor and others.

Diaz has also been called out by Paul in recent weeks, and he could be Paul’s next opponent in the boxing ring. Paul faces Woodley in a rematch this weekend while Diaz has only one fight left on his UFC contract.

Diaz and McKee are still expected to be in attendance for the fights, and things could escalate later on fight night. Expect extra security in between both sides.

What are your thoughts on this scuffle between Nate Diaz and AJ McKee?

AJ McKee Issues $1 Million Challenge To Top UFC Featherweights

Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee is willing to put his money where his mouth is against top UFC featherweights.

McKee has called for a possible cross-promotion fight between himself and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski or fo…

AJ McKee

Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee is willing to put his money where his mouth is against top UFC featherweights.

McKee has called for a possible cross-promotion fight between himself and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski or former champion Max Holloway since earning the belt. He won the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix by finishing Patricio Freire in one of the most stunning performances of 2021.

It isn’t a well-kept secret that UFC president Dana White has zero interest in any cross-promotion fights, especially with Bellator and McKee. But, McKee has a solution to top MMA featherweights who feel he isn’t on their level.

During a recent interview with The Schmo, McKee issued an open challenge to Volkanovski, Holloway, and others to come down to his gym and scrap for $1 Million.

AJ McKee Is Arguably The New Face Of Bellator MMA

AJ McKee
(via Bellator MMA)

“Come down to Body Shop,” McKee said. “We all know I just made a million. All you UFC fighters, PFL, wherever you at. If you feel you are the best 145-pounder in the world, I got a million dollars cash money. Come test it.”

“I’m the best 145-pound fighter – not only the best 145-pound fighter – I am the best fighter in the world,” McKee continued. “And if you don’t know, you will know momentarily.”

McKee has reason to be confident in his chances against the likes of Volkanovski and Holloway, as the undefeated featherweight has looked like a tough puzzle to solve in his career. Before his win over Freire, he earned big finishes over Darrion Caldwell and Derek Campos to continue his undefeated Bellator tenure.

For now, McKee awaits his first featherweight title defense, which has yet to be announced. He’s also dabbled in the possibility of moving up to lightweight eventually to try to become the latest two-weight world champion in MMA.

What do you think would happen in a fight between AJ McKee and top UFC stars such as Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski?

Continue Reading AJ McKee Issues $1 Million Challenge To Top UFC Featherweights at MMA News.

Patricio Freire Vacates 155lb Title So His Brother Can Fight For It At Bellator 270

PitbullPatricky Freire will now be fighting for the lightweight title at Bellator 270 after his brother, Patricio Freire vacated his title on Wednesday. Bellator president, Scott Coker was on Ariel Helwani’s ‘The MMA Hour’ today and made the announcement that Patricio Freire would be vacating his lightweight title. Patricio’s older brother, Patricky Freire will now […]

Pitbull

Patricky Freire will now be fighting for the lightweight title at Bellator 270 after his brother, Patricio Freire vacated his title on Wednesday.

Bellator president, Scott Coker was on Ariel Helwani’s ‘The MMA Hour’ today and made the announcement that Patricio Freire would be vacating his lightweight title. Patricio’s older brother, Patricky Freire will now be going toe to toe against Peter Queally as the main event at Bellator 270.

‘Pitbull’ had his eyes set on the featherweight champion, AJ McKee who he would end up losing to at Bellator 263. McKee is the only fighter ‘Pitbull’ has lost to since 2015. Freire is a two-time featherweight champion and it seems as if he wants to make himself a three-time featherweight champion now. He has his eyes set on a rematch with McKee rather than staying in the lightweight division.

The last time fans saw Freire in the lightweight division was when he dethroned former champion Michael Chandler. Since then we have seen Chandler make a transition into the UFC and become a contender in the organization. While Freire was involved in the featherweight tournament where he defended his title in three fights before losing it in the finals to McKee via submission.

Patricky Freire, the second half of the ‘Pitbull’ brothers, last fight was against Queally back in May of 2021. He would go on to lose that fight by a doctor’s stoppage at the end of the second round.

“Honor and family come first,” Patricio wrote on Twitter after news of him vacating the title was announced. “When I first won the LW belt it was just about revenge. It was still an honor, but with the loss at 145 I’m starting over. It’s time for the LW division to move on and for Patricky Pitbull to have his shot. My focus is AJ and him only.”

Do you think Patricky Freire will become the Bellator lightweight champion on November 5?

AJ McKee On Contract Status: We’ve Got To Sit Down And Talk Numbers

The sky is the limit for AJ McKee after becoming the new Bellator featherweight champion, as he looks to value himself as the 145-pound king. AJ McKee made history at Bellator 263 when he dethroned the long-time champion Patricio “Pitbull” …

The sky is the limit for AJ McKee after becoming the new Bellator featherweight champion, as he looks to value himself as the 145-pound king. AJ McKee made history at Bellator 263 when he dethroned the long-time champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire via first-round standing guillotine choke to claim the featherweight title. The event took place […]

Continue Reading AJ McKee On Contract Status: We’ve Got To Sit Down And Talk Numbers at MMA News.

Patricio Pitbull Stands Firm That McKee Did Not Finish Him At Bellator 263

Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has doubled down on his claim that AJ McKee didn’t finish him at Bellator 263. In the headlining fight of the event, which went down on July 31, Pitbull, a former two-division ch…

Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has doubled down on his claim that AJ McKee didn’t finish him at Bellator 263. In the headlining fight of the event, which went down on July 31, Pitbull, a former two-division champion, looked to defend his 145-pound gold in the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. […]

Continue Reading Patricio Pitbull Stands Firm That McKee Did Not Finish Him At Bellator 263 at MMA News.

Alexander Volkanovski Takes AJ McKee To School: ‘This Is A Whole Different Ball Game’

Alexander VolkanovskiAlexander Volkanovski wants to remind AJ McKee that there are levels to MMA. The 26-year-old impressively beat Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire last weekend to stretch his perfect record to 18-0, become Bellator’s featherweight champion, and take home an extra million in prize money. At the Bellator 263 post-fight press conference, McKee confidently declared himself the best […]

Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski wants to remind AJ McKee that there are levels to MMA.

The 26-year-old impressively beat Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire last weekend to stretch his perfect record to 18-0, become Bellator’s featherweight champion, and take home an extra million in prize money.

At the Bellator 263 post-fight press conference, McKee confidently declared himself the best featherweight fighter in MMA, he said.

“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.”

The UFC featherweight king, Volkanovski, recently played down McKee’s big win.

“For him to even get that opportunity to fight the UFC champion just obviously wouldn’t be fair,” Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “Look at the row of killers that I had to verse to get to the top, to get to the champ. The same as the guys that are in the top 10, absolute killers in the UFC, and they got to fight each other to try and get to the top. No offense, but the competition, you got to be honest, it is a little bit different.

“Is he high level? Maybe,” Volkanovski added. “But you get to fight these guys and then get a shot straight to the top? Yeah, I wish I was in another promotion before I was in the UFC and got a shot at the UFC champ, but that’s not how things work. But again, fair play to him. I ended up seeing highlights of the fight. He looked good, did great, but at the same time, this is a whole different ball game.”

Who do you think is the best featherweight in MMA? Alexander Volkanovski, AJ McKee or somebody else?