A.J. McKee Turns the Page

A.J. McKee fought all 22 of his professional bouts under the Bellator MMA banner, but the “Mercenary” sounds optimistic about the next chapter of his career with the Professional Fighters League.

McKee turns the first page this Saturday when he faces Clay Collard in a PFL “PFL vs. Bellator Champs” lightweight showcase in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former Bellator featherweight champion closed out his home promotion’s 16-year run with a win over Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 301, and he now gets to usher in a new era.

“I was happy to end 301 and then get the opportunity to come full circle with PFL in their first pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia,” McKee told Sherdog.com. “I think it says a lot about how they view me. Especially with the card being ‘champs vs. champs’ and myself being one of the only non-champs, I think it’s an honor.”

A PFL-Bellator card without McKee would have been a missed opportunity. McKee has been one of Bellator’s bright faces since he debuted in 2015. He burst onto the scene with a first-round submission over Marcos Bonilla at Bellator 136, and it did not take long for the Long Beach, California, native to cruise his way to the featherweight title. McKee may have been just a promising prospect before his title shot against Patricio Freire, but submitting “Pitbull” in under four minutes made him a star. McKee looked like one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in all of MMA, but the support around him quickly cooled after he lost the rematch nine months later.

Even after losing the belt, McKee remained a model company employee. He showed up on weight for his lightweight debut despite Spike Carlye coming in overweight. Then, he defended Bellator’s honor with a dominant win over Roberto Satoshi de Souza at Rizin 40. Yet after everything McKee had done over the last eight years, he was hurt by how he was treated following his win over Outlaw.

“I didn’t get the mic,” McKee said. “I didn’t get an opportunity to thank anyone or say who I was appreciative of. There were so many people who I grew bonds within the organization over the years, so losing that opportunity to thank everyone, I was pretty bummed and frustrated with that.”

Underwhelmed by his final Bellator outing, McKee was unsure of the next step in his career. He was a hot commodity and could have signed with any promotion he wanted, but he had an answer three days later. The PFL bought Bellator with the intention of re-imagining the historic brand. The annual PFL vs. Bellator card and the Bellator International Championship Series could keep the tradition alive. McKee comes into the PFL eager to make the most of the organization’s resources and roster of new opponents, but he wants to make it clear that he is ready to defend Bellator’s honor.

“I’ve always said the organization doesn’t make the fighter, the fighters make the organization,” McKee said. “With PFL acquiring Bellator, at least speaking for myself, I’m looking forward to going in there and showing them that we’re the best in the world and we’re here for strictly business.”