It was a solid night for Team Bellator MMA early on the PFL Cape Town card on Saturday.
A pair of Bellator alums in Corey Anderson and A.J. McKee each came away with big wins at the event, with both seeing their first action in 2025.
Anderson, coming into the event with pal Ben Askren undergoing a double lung transplant, made his heavyweight debut for the promotion in a fight against PFL Global heavyweight champion Denis Goltsov. Anderson, still the reigning Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion (announced as such), didn’t give up much in height or weight, already a massive 205’er who had fought at heavyweight early in his career. That might have been key, as “Overtime” was able to hold his own against the veteran heavyweight, controlling the action up against the cage.
In the second round, Anderson found his opening, putting away Goltsov for a TKO victory.
Anderson (19-6, 1NC) has now won three straight, and should probably defend his light heavyweight title next, which will presumably transfer over to the PFL Champions Series with Bellator having been mothballed.
The return of former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee was up next, with McKee looking to bounce back from a split decision loss against Paul Hughes when he took on Dagestan’s Akhmed Magomedov, with Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner.
Akhmed Magomedov dumped McKee early in the opening round on Saturday, off a caught kick, but that allowed McKee to throw up a triangle attempt. The Dagestani would have to be careful even on top, given McKee’s ability to pull off dazzling submissions from his back, but after readjusting, Magomedov was able to settle in, heavy on top. While that might have been bad news for many fighters, McKee was able to roll to one side, get an underhook, and threaten to sweep, ultimately getting to his feet and going straight into his own takedown before they moved back to center.
There, A.J. began finding his range, tagging Magomedov a couple of times and wobbling him once. Yet Magomedov managed to connect on McKee against the fence once himself, before McKee reversed, finishing a competitive first round with a body kick.
The tone had been set in the opening frame; to start round two, Magomedov immediately went into takedown mode, but struggled to get McKee down, eventually finding himself reversed. When they did go down, it was off a big slam, with McKee taking the back. Hooks in, McKee began slowly working towards a possible rear-naked choke, mixing in a few punches to create an opening.
Eventually Magomedov would escape up, but McKee stayed on him, and Magomedov was warned for grabbing the fence. McKee would land another body shot at the end of the frame, forcing Magomedov in on a takedown attempt he couldn’t land.
Ahead of round three, Magomedov was told he’d see a point deducted if he grabbed the fence again. The Dagestani came out hot, throwing hands then moving in on a takedown that saw McKee defend for a good thirty seconds before Magomedov finally finished and got on top. McKee then used the fence to roll, fired upkicks, and caught Magomedov in a triangle, though he was able to pull his head out. Still, a reminder that McKee was always, always dangerous off his back, even late in a fight. McKee then lifted a knee and was able to sweep, getting in on a guillotine and using it to transition to the back.
A.J. got hooks in with a minute left on the clock, and got a body triangle in place while seated. Not enough time was left, however, to find a finish. They’d go the distance, with McKee earning the unanimous decision victory and improving to 23-2 overall.
