With his 14th straight victory at Bellator 221, AJ McKee has no plans on ever losing, and has Patricio Pitbull’s title in his sights. Either title.
Chicago, IL — The undefeated streak continues. AJ McKee, Bellator’s hottest featherweight star at this point, improved to 14-0 Saturday night at Bellator 221 in Chicago. It wasn’t the most entertaining bout of his tenure. He didn’t get the finish he wanted. But he came out on top with a unanimous decision win over former 145lb champ Pat Curran.
“It was a great fight, you know? I went out there and fought smart. I was happy with my performance,” he told media members including Cageside Press after the fight.
Yes, the finish had been on his mind. “I always want to get the finish. That’s me, I just love knocking people out. It’s fun, it’s what the fans want.”
Yet as McKee noted, “that was a two-time former champion. I’ve never been in there with a champion.”
“I actually spoke with Pat following the fight, and he said I did exactly what I needed to do,” McKee revealed back stage. “He said he was looking for that counter, he was looking for me to over-commit. I could feel that. So I knew with my range, just stay long and pick him apart, mix it up with takedowns, and stay saucy.”
As for the boo-birds that came out during the fight, “I don’t really give a sh*t what they boo about,” said McKee. “How many people booed Floyd? At the end of the day, he still came out victorious. For me, it was a unanimous decision. It wasn’t a split. It was unanimous. So I did what I needed to do.”
The Floyd Mayweather comparison is one McKee has made before. Explaining it, the featherweight said that “no one is undefeated. No one can take his achievements, his accomplishments from him. No one can say ‘I beat that man, I was the one to stop him.’ And no one can say that about me either.”
At least for now. McKee sits at 14-0, but he has a long career ahead of him, from the looks of things. And he certainly seems to be motivated.
“I’m here to take over. Take over and take names. Kick ass, take names, you know?” he exclaimed. “I’m coming for one thing, and that’s to secure my family’s legacy. The last name McKee. And make sure it gets the recognition it deserves in this sport. My father was eight years undefeated. I’m going a lifetime undefeated.”
Asked about Bellator 221’s main event, McKee said that it was a “great fight.” Now, he has his eye on new double champ Patricio Pitbull. “What weight you want to fight me for it? 45, 55?”
“Why not?” he said of jumping right in there with the champ. “45, 55, what belt do you want to fight me for? Which belt do you want to give me?” If you’re surprised that McKee would consider going up in weight after finding so much success at 145lbs, think again. “I’m a big 45’er. If you’re going to give me an extra ten pounds to come in bigger, by all means, let’s do it.”
In either weight class, he’s prepared for his shot. “I just beat a former champ. I’m ready, I’m ready for that belt,” he said. “[Pitbull]’s ready. Chandler’s going to need some time to recover a little bit. Regardless, he did get rocked. You can call it an early stoppage, I feel it was an early stoppage. But at the end of the day, he got rocked. It’s protect yourself at all times. It’s part of the sport. Sh*t happens. Go back to the drawing board, redo it, and come back in there.”
“Meanwhile, let me get one of these belts, and continue to secure my family’s legacy,” continued McKee, adding “and do what I do best. Which is kick ass and take names.”
Watch the full Bellator 221 post-fight press scrum with AJ McKee above!
