At 26, A.J. McKee has climbed the mountaintop while in Bellator MMA in just a short period. The Bellator featherweight champion, the undefeated McKee is ready to continue to show the whole world why he is one of the best featherweights in the world today.
McKee won the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix in July, mowing down Georgi Karakhanyan, Derek Campos, and Darrion Caldwell before facing off against the champion in Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. At Bellator 263, McKee took out Freire in the first round with a guillotine choke. He won the title and $1 million in the process.
The two are scheduled for a rematch at Bellator 277 on April 15 inside San Jose's SAP Center. Freire vacated the Bellator lightweight title to focus on this match. His brother Patricky now holds onto the belt. What does McKee think about that?
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Sporting News’ Karisa Maxwell spoke to McKee during Super Bowl weekend to break down his rivalry with Freire. They also went into detail on his mini-feud with Nate Diaz, as well as the beef between Jake Paul and Dana White.
McKee’s answers were edited for length.
Sporting News: How are you preparing for the fight (round two) against Patricio Pitbull?
A.J. McKee: My approach is going to be a little bit different this time. Last time it was kind of like the big brother picking on the little brother. This time I’m going to go in there as the champ, hold myself a little different. He’s got to come to me, you know? He had the belt. Now that I have the belt, I think it’s going to be the same fight. I’ve been enjoying the offseason, snowboarding a little bit, staying up to date with my running, my weights good. My dad has always bred me on the same: if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. It’s kind of a lifestyle.
SN: What were his (Freire’s) weak points the first time around?
McKee: Well, I got into his head. I read in the Art of War, mental warfare is the number one warfare. The mindset, you know? The mindset is key. After 18 fights, I knew I had a job to do. I knew I needed to go in there and set an example out of him. For me, I’m finding the motivation in people thinking, “Oh, it was lucky, oh it just happened too quick.” That was literally our first exchange. We had not really thrown any punches or anything. That was our first exchange, and I dropped him. For me, I’m going to go in there and do what I do best. See an opportunity and capitalize on it.
SN: You’ve proven yourself in the featherweight division. There are a lot of people that have said you have not fought in the UFC and played with the "big boys." Do you think that you can still be considered the greatest featherweight in the world without having to fight anyone in the UFC?
McKee: Definitely! People fail to realize the organizations don’t make the fighters. The fighters make the organization. With me, my skillset, my stats... I mean, yeah, you can say, "OK, I’m not fighting UFC fighters," but look at who I am fighting, what I’m fighting, and how the fights go. It’s kind of like football or basketball. I’m all about the stats. 18 fights, 13 finishes, six submissions, five knockouts, the majority of them all in the first round. I like the stats. Regardless, I enjoy people hating. At the end of the day, that’s the motivation for me. I love the haters, as long as you are talking about me. I’m a loving guy. You shouldn’t hate me. Join my team, we can be friends.
SN: If you could fight anyone from the UFC, who would be your top fight?
McKee: My dream fight is Max Holloway. I feel like he has some of the most elite striking in our division. You’ve seen it. He’s picked people apart on their feet. But once again, it’s mixed martial arts. You got to have a mix of all of them. That’s where my skillset comes in handy. I’m an adapter. Whatever situation I’m in, I’m going to adapt to it and try to figure a way out. Whether it’s wrestling, striking, or jiu-jitsu. I’m kind of well-rounded in all of them, so I think that would be a fun fight.
SN: Regarding the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley press conference and the scuffle he had while there: What was happening backstage between you and Nate Diaz?
McKee: I don’t know. Anthony Taylor has had this feud with, not even Nate, but one of his buddies for quite some time. Chris Avila. I just told him Ant’s not to be touched in my presence. I don’t like bullies. Regardless of the situation, whatever it is, he’s not to be touched in my presence. Every time I’m around now, they kind of nitpick at him. I don’t like that. Somebody squares up, I’m going to square up too. That’s my boy. I guess things got a little out of hand. It’s fight life. You can’t put a bunch of warriors in a room, and there’s a bunch of feuds and expect everyone to get along. Eventually, someone's going to step out of line.
I wouldn’t say it’s real beef with Nate. Now it’s becoming that. It’s like every time I see him, it’s like a little laugh, a joke, a game. Like, bro, if we got an issue, what’s up? We can handle any issue. You’re a fighter, I’m a fighter. You got one fight? Showtime? Boxing? What’s up?
SN: Have you seen him since that altercation? Has he reached out?
McKee: No. The first encounter I ever had with Nate, it was his buddy, something happened and I sent Nate a nice text. “Yo, if your boy’s got an issue, I know he’s UFC, tell him we can meet backyard style. That’s the area you grew up in, and that’s the era I know of because my dad grew up fighting in. If you’re with it, I know we have contracts, but hey, here’s some bread, here’s some bread. The winner takes all. Let’s set this feud. I never got a response. Now, it’s not with me, it’s with others around me. Until it’s directly at me, I can’t really do anything.
SN: Speaking of Jake Paul, fighter pay has been a huge topic of conversation around all the different leagues and promotions. What do you make of this ongoing Twitter beef between Jake Paul and Dana White?
I think it’s comical. No one really challenges Dana, so I think it’s kind of funny that he’s challenging Dana. Mixed martial arts is mixed martial arts. It’s not like NFL, basketball, or any other sport. It’s still new, it’s still becoming a sport. With that being said, I think that there are pros and cons to it. My own, personal opinion on it? I think it’s funny, it’s comical to me, I like it, I enjoy it.
At the same time, I don’t think Dana likes it. It’s business. Why would he? His business has run great the way it is for many years. He’s done great at building superstars and so forth. It’s cool, but Jake’s doing the right things. I’ve kind of been in cahoots with him. I’m looking forward to hopping over to on Showtime and teaming up with him and doing some boxing as well. We’ll see where that path lies.
SN: So you are working with MVP Promotions?
McKee: MVP, Jake, it’s all the same. I don’t know. We’ll see how things work out. I have talked to Jake a couple of times. We’ll see where things go.
SN: Having seen him in the ring sparring against Tyron Woodley, knocking him out in impressive fashion, Jake's now calling out (Jorge) Masvidal, saying he will retire from boxing and sign with the UFC to fight him. Having seen him in the ring, do you think he has what it takes to compete in MMA?
McKee: Definitely! It’s a mindset, you know? That warrior, that beast. That first fight with Woodley showed a lot. It showed a lot of heart for him to be able to, not just take the damage but also dish it out. Woodley, he’s a beast. Whether people give him respect or not. I have known Woodley since I was a kid.
That was a rough fight for me to watch personally. Knowing, "Alright, you could potentially work with Jake, and then he’s fighting an uncle to you." So I kind of had to play the middle there. It was an experience, I’ll say that. Business is business. That’s what I like about the sport. At the end of the day, it’s just business. You hug it out at the end, you love each other, and you keep going. Sometimes, you sell the fight. You make it what it is.
My ultimate card, in boxing, I think it would be like, Nick Diaz vs. Logan or Jake, me vs. Nate, That would be something crazy. If Nate’s got an issue, we can get that on Showtime. Meet me outside. We can put up a championship belt for it.
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SN: Do you have any interest in competing for the Bellator lightweight title now that “Pitbull” has vacated it?
McKee: Definitely. Honestly, I was a little upset. He released the belt, and then he gets the rematch? We should have gotten a rematch for the 155-pound title because that was the whole goal, to become champ-champ anyways. But at this point, maybe I’ll just beat him up one more time, and then we'll make it a family affair. I’ll go take the belt from his brother.
