A.J. McKee: Bellator 263 Fight vs. Patricio Freire ‘Hands Down’ Determines Sport’s P4P Best

#BellatorFWGP finalist @ajmckee101 stopped by the desk to chop up #Bellator263 with @BCusterTV #ColbertNyambayar @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/qpAsth4XvE

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) July 4, 2021

The Bellator 263 headliner between Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee may very well be the biggest fight in the history of the California-based promotion, but McKee is willing to take it one step further.

Not only does “The Mercenary” believe the featherweight grand prix final determines the No. 1 fighter under the Bellator banner, but he thinks the winner also deserves a spot at the top of all pound-for-pound lists, regardless of organization.

“Definitely. Hands down,” McKee said on Saturday’s Showtime Boxing broadcast. “This fight is for the pound-for-pound best, I feel, in the world. At 145 pounds, there’s not too many guys that can stop myself or ‘Pitbull.’”

McKee has kicked off his professional tenure with 17 consecutive triumphs in Bellator, a run that includes finishes against Georgi Karakhanyan, Derek Campos and Darrion Caldwell in the promotion’s 145-pound grand prix. Freire, of course, is a different animal entirely, but it’s a fight that McKee has been targeting for quite some time now.

“I am going to go out there and dig into my bag of tricks and I am going to shock the world,” McKee said. “He’s done a lot for the sport and he has been my target for a long time, ever since I started to come up. I’ve been calling his name for 17 fights and it is time now to get it on.”

The Team Bodyshop representative has finished five of his last six opponents inside the Bellator cage, and he doesn’t envision his championship clash with Freire needing the full five rounds.

“This is not going the distance.  Stylistically, it’s a bad match up for him,” McKee said. “Nothing personal but my style is not a good match up for him…. I have to stay long, keep positioning and my feet. Distance is a big part of this fight. And catching him on the angle.”