AJ McKee rematches Pitbull in first title defense at Bellator 277 – Orange County Register

Armed with a featherweight belt, $1 million, and killing Bellator’s greatest champion in 117 seconds, AJ McKee is back with more.

Bellator officials confirmed Tuesday that McKee will have his first title defense in a rematch with Patricio Pitbull in the Bellator 277 main event on April 15 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

The co-main event wasn’t difficult either, as 205-pound champion Vadim Nemkov faced off against leading contender Corey Anderson in the $1 million Heavyweight Light Grand Prix final.

Bellator 277 tickets go on sale Friday at Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com, with a special pre-sale starting Thursday.

Coached by his father, Antonio, with Team Bodyshop, on Tuesday, McKee admitted he was looking forward to taking on another opponent. Even after his victory, the residents of Long Beach teasing increased from 145 pounds to 155where Pitbull was also the previous champion Leave the title blank in October so his brother, Patricky, can win it a month later.

But if Pitbull can’t make it through the first round of their first fight, McKee surmises, after never finishing 36 professional fights spanning 17 years, he’s willing to happily do it for once. again.

“First time I have to take down an opponent and do it twice, so it will be fun, you know?” McKee said in an exclusive interview. “Usually when I fight with people, the point is that they don’t want to fight me back. So I’m looking to do it right from the start of the second round for me. ”

Long considered one of the sport’s rising stars, McKee (18-0) has made a sizable mark on the MMA scene with his dynamic win over Pitbull (32-5) at Bellator 263 during the $1 million Bellator World Featherweight Grand Prix final on July 31 at The Forum in Inglewood.

McKee’s kick to the left head caused Pitbull to stagger, who swerved down after a hard left-side bump. McKee soon raised his hands in celebration as the partisan crowd roared, only for Pitbull to get up and keep fighting. McKee quickly secured a choking guillotinewith referee Mike Beltran, realizing that Pitbull was losing consciousness, called for the fight to stop at 1:57 of the first round.

Pitbull, who has not lost in five years and has won seven consecutive title fights, was initially opposed to stopping the bout early. Although the great Brazilian repeated that in his post-fight interviews, others echoed this sentiment, which gave the new champion motivation.

“The first fight is just getting in there and knowing what you have to do, you know? This match, I think now it proves the point even more,” said McKee, who will turn 27 eight days before the rematch. “You know, it’s a personal opinion when people say, you know, finish early. And so I want to make sure that there is no question and doubt left in his brain after this next game that AJ McKee is the best 145 in the world. ”

McKee has been enjoying life for the past six months. He said he went snowboarding and treated himself to a 2018 Cadillac CTS V Championship Edition.

“I won a championship belt. And I bought myself a championship car. I feel the champion is ready, the champion is approved,” he said.