Bellator 263: AJ McKee submits Pitbull to win $1 million

“I said was gonna do it in stylish fashion. Done and one. Head kick, Uppercut. I saw him quit.”

McKee took the center of the cage from the get-go, but the pair squared off with little action other than a few McKee kicks to Pitbull’s legs.

The southpaw had Pitbull backed toward the fence when he feigned a left jab. Pitbull put his right hand out and

McKee connected with perfectly timed left head kick, his shin blasting the side of Pitbull’s jaw. McKee tapped a

staggered Pitbull with a couple punches before a left uppercut dropped the Brazilian.

The 26-year-old phenom began to prematurely celebrate before referee Mike Beltran told him to continue

fighting and Pitbull began to rise. McKee pounced and locked in a standing guillotine choke, torqueing with all

his might for several seconds before McKee felt Pitbull began to fade. As Pitbull’s arms began to go limp, Beltran

jumped in at 1:57 to kick off a wild celebration from the partisan crowd.

part3

What’s more, in 36 professional fights spanning 17 years, Pitbull had never been knocked out or submitted – and

McKee might have done both in less than two minutes.

Pitbull appeared to protest Beltran’s stoppage. McKee said Pitbull told him after the fight he didn’t lose

consciousness.

McKee joked at the postfight press conference: “Maybe he wasn’t satisfied. I can put him out again.”

Pitbull later said he watched the finish and didn’t disagree with it.

“On this night, he was great. He kicked my head, he almost knocked me out and almost finished me on the same

night,” the former champ said. “He was good. Congratulations. Now he is the champ.”

McKee (18-0) kicked off his professional MMA career more than six years ago, having just turned 20 and

collecting a victory via submission at Bren Events Center in Irvine and calling out Pitbull, who was seven months

into his first featherweight title reign.

Pitbull and McKee both started their journeys in the grand prix at Bellator 228 in September 2019 at The Forum –

Pitbull dominating top contender Juan Archuleta in a unanimous decision after McKee recorded a highlight-ree_ 8-second knockout of Georgi Karakhanyan

Three months later against Derek Campos, McKee grinded out a third-round submission win despite tearing his

lateral collateral ligament in his left knee at Bellator 236 in December 2019. And in November, he advanced to

the final by forcing a tapout via a neck crank/guillotine choke of former Bellator bantamweight champion and NCAA wrestling champion Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 253 in November.

part4

Pitbull, 34, had been regarded by some as the top 145-pounder in the world. He is still the organization’s

lightweight champion – one of only three double champions in Bellator history, though now there are none.

Bellator CEO Scott Coker revealed after the fight that McKee’s team had mentioned that their fighter might not

be long for the featherweight division because the 145-pound limit has become increasingly more challenging

for him to make.

McKee confirmed it and suggested possibly taking on Pitbull again, this time for his lightweight title.

Pitbull’s team welcomed the challenge but offered a role reversal by welcoming McKee to Brazil for the rematch.

“We traveled 36 hours to get here. Let’s switch it up one time,” said Eric Albarracin, Pitbull’s coach.

MORE:

Crew u.S. Basketball vs. The Czech Republic rating, Tokyo Olympics

SOURCE: