Bellator star A.J. McKee is headed back to Japan for his second straight fight in the country this weekend, as he kicks off his run in the promotion’s lightweight grand prix.
Fighting in Japan again was an easy sell for McKee (20-1), who is a former featherweight champ, and made his Japanese debut back in December.
“Do it. Let’s do it! That’s one of the best places to fight, strategically speaking, and just energetically-wise,” McKee told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview, ahead of his fight with Patricky Pitbill. “The crowds are amazing out there, they don’t boo, they only cheer when you shoot for submissions or takedowns, it’s just very respectful. They have a different respect for the sport and the art aspect of the sport.”
“Coming full circle and taking the grand prix out there, starting it off with Patricky, I couldn’t think of a better way or a better fight to start off the tournament with.”
Given McKee’s history with Patricio Pitbull — they remain tied 1-1 in their career series, with McKee hoping to land the trilogy fight down the line — the booking with Patricky, the elder Pitbull brother, felt like an obvious one. But despite a sometimes heated rivalry with the Brazilians, McKee explained that past animosities have not carried over.
“No, not at all. At the end of the day he’s his own man,” explained McKee. “They may share similar styles and so forth, but he’s his own man. He was his own champ, and I can’t look at him as, he is his brother, nor vice versa. So this is a fight where I’m just looking forward to going in there, looking at him face-to-face, and putting on a show.”
“At the end of the day, we both have mutual respect for each other, and we both know that we’ve got a job to do.”
Of course, trash talk may not entirely fall by the wayside. “Patricky knows that I like to talk my smack, but at the end of the day, when we get in that cage, our hands and our feet are going to do the trash talking,” McKee later added.
While McKee is treating the Pitbull brothers as separate entities, and deservedly so, in terms of fighting style, there are of course comparisons to be made.
“Definitely. They’ve got very similar styles, they’ve trained together their entire lives. I’m going to see a lot of similarities, it’s just being able to make those little adjustments, and make those adjustments mid-fight,” said McKee. “Where Patricio is a lot longer, Patricky is a lot more in tight. It’s being cognitive of those little things.”
McKee is the one man in the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix to have gone the distance in a tournament for the promotion previously, having defeated Patricio Pitbull to win the million dollar featherweight grand prix two years ago. As for any edge, McKee downplayed the role it might play.
“I wouldn’t say it gives you an edge, but it gives you something, to know what to look forward to. The tournament aspect, for me, everybody’s 0-0. Everybody’s undefeated right now,” stated McKee. “It’s whoever comes out 3-0. We’ve got a couple of guys that are 1-0. For me, it’s going out there and becoming 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and continuing the hit list. I’ve got one title that’s got 16 names on it, so I’m looking forward to conquering another one with another eight.”
McKee is that rare fighter to have spent his entire professional career with a single promotion, coming up on 22 fights now. Debuting for Bellator in 2015, he ran up an 18-fight win streak before suffering his only loss, in his second fight with Patricio Pitbull. During that time, he’s become the face of the promotion, especially with Michael Chandler‘s move to the UFC.
That’s a situation that A.J. McKee says is “awesome.” McKee never expected to be in this role— “I didn’t think I’d be the face of the company,” he told us — but having put in the work over the years and set/met his own goals, he’s happy to see his craft appreciated. As nice as it is to get that recognition, however, “at the end of the day I’ve got a job to do, and stepping into this grand prix at 155 pounds, everything else in the past is all voided out. Now coming full circle, this is where it’s at. This is the pressure, and this is what I like. Diamonds to well under pressure, it’s how they’re created. I’ve got that fire in me, so I’m ready to go burn some stuff up.”
Of course, whether Bellator will even be Bellator when this grand prix wraps up is a valid question. The company is up for sale, news confirmed by Bellator CEO Scott Coker. McKee, however, isn’t paying that too much mind.
“For me, I’m going to just do what I do best. Send me a contract, and I’m going to do what I do. Just don’t leave me in the wind hanging around, baby. I’m ready to get active. This is how I support my family, this is how I support my father’s family and so forth.” That includes a new baby brother, Halo McKee. “We’ve got new additions to the family. I’m a dog that’s trying to eat, let me eat!”
Watch our full interview with Bellator x RIZIN star A.J. McKee above.
