Video: Is A.J. McKee the best featherweight in the world after Bellator 263?
At long last, A.J. McKee is a Bellator champion.
McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) had virtually no issue taking out longtime featherweight champ Patricio Freire (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) in the final of the featherweight grand prix at Bellator 263 this past Saturday.
McKee made good on a promise he made himself years ago that he’d become a millionaire when he wrote himself a $1 million check. Bellator wrote him a $1 million check for winning the tournament, and now McKee likely is in line for a much more lucrative contract with the promotion.
But in the grand scheme of things in the current 145-pound landscape, did McKee set himself apart as the best featherweight in the world with the win? He’s unbeaten, he ran through the tournament with four stoppages, including three in the first round, and he took out a dual champ considered the best fighter in Bellator history with relative ease.
Does that put him ahead of the best featherweights in the UFC like champ Alexander Volkanovski, former champ Max Holloway and Brian Ortega? Our “Spinning Back Clique” host John Morgan asked this week’s panel of Brian Garcia, Mike Bohn and Nolan King if McKee now is the best in the world.
Check out that topic in the video above, and don’t miss the full episode below.