Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee is hoping to test his skills against the best in combat sports, including Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
McKee has quickly developed into one of the top mixed martial artists in the world. At the age of just 26, "Mercenary" has built an unblemished 18-0 record, which includes 13 finishes, beating the likes of Darrion Caldwell and Patricio Pitbull, and having Bellator's 145-pound strap wrapped around his waist.
After an incredible neck crank submission victory over Caldwell in November 2020 sent him to the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, McKee established himself as the top dog in the division by dethroning then-double champ Pitbull. A first-round choke secured his place on the throne and his spot amongst the global featherweight elite.
McKee Has One Eye On The Ring
Since extending his perfect record and joining the champions' club, many have questioned how McKee compares to the top featherweight stars in the UFC. While he maintains he's the best in the world, a sentiment shared by Bellator kingpin Scott Coker, 145-pound UFC titleholder Alexander Volkanovski isn't so sure.
At such a young age, McKee has plenty of time to boost his skills and close any gap there might be between himself and the likes of Volkanovski and Max Holloway, and perhaps even crossover to MMA's premier organization to challenge them. But his ambitions don't end at facing the best in the cage.
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"Hell yeah (I'll box McGregor), what's up, he's got a couple fights left, Showtime Boxing, let's do it. Definitely, I'll box anybody... I'm a fighter. I want to test my skills against the best. That's why I've always called out Floyd. It's not like, 'Ah, I wanna beat Floyd.' I wanna test my skills, hand-to-hand combat, with one of the best athletes in hand-to-hand combat.
"I'm down for anybody. If it's 145, '55, 170, boxing I'll go up three weight classes, what do I have to lose? It ain't affecting my mixed martial arts career record. For me, it's all money moves and fun and games."
With Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Frank Mir, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley all crossing over to the ring across the past year, a Mayweather and McGregor callout from a rising MMA champion isn't as crazy as it would have seemed prior to 2021.
Should McKee continue his dominance in Bellator and possibly make the transition to the UFC, perhaps we'll see him lace the boxing gloves against top names like "The Notorious" McGregor and "Money" Mayweather in the coming years. Having previously called out the latter, it seems that's who McKee really has his sights set on.
Would you like to see AJ McKee test his skills in the ring against Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather?