Why did A.J. McKee ultimately agree to stay with Bellator?
This is the simple answer for an ex-featherweight champion.
“There’s another million dollars at stake,” McKee said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “There’s another million dollars [in] the 155-pound division and I’ve been kind of getting my feet wet in it a little bit. They offered and I couldn’t turn it down
McKee, 27, re-signed with Bellator on a new multi-fight deal Wednesday that will keep the former champ under the only MMA banner he’s ever known for the foreseeable future.
A Bellator original who’s won 20 of his 21 professional fights, McKee had one fight remaining on his old contract. He revealed on The MMA Hour that he believes his new deal covers six fights and begins with the promotion’s upcoming lightweight grand prix.
He stated that Bellator officials gave him permission to send out feelers in order to gauge interest for his services. This was after his win over Roberto Satoshi, RIZIN champion, at the Bellator MMA vs RIZIN event. It wasn’t long until his team and Bellator had a contract.
“I kind of was given the opportunity to go and talk a little bit and see,” McKee said. “So, I don’t know, once I did that and then I came back, I was like, ‘Look, there’s some people that are interested,’ and they were like, ‘You know what? We’re going to make this work.’ And we sat down — we sat down, the team and I — and figured it out.
“I think just strategically it makes sense if I say. I’m homegrown with Bellator, I’ve been raised there, my entire career has been there. So I’m not going to go anywhere unless I have to, you know what I mean? It is no secret that [other promotions are] writes bigger checks than UFC. So it seems like what the point of this? For the fame? Fame don’t pay bills.”
It’s in some ways a surprising announcement.
Not long ago, McKee was openly flirting with how “inevitable” it was for him to become UFC champion and publicly demanding that Bellator offer him $1 million per fight to stay. Much of that talk was prior to McKee’s April 2022 rematch with current Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull, which became the first loss of his professional career. But even still, McKee admitted to feeling some surprise about how things ultimately played out.
” I’m a mixture of the two. McKee stated, “Especially when I started to fight out [my contract], and I was on the way out,” McKee added. Then McKee explained, “And then it’s like we came full circle to where now, alright. So it’s like any game, you’ve got to have some moves up your sleeve. But yeah, for me, I’m happy where I’m at. I’ve been intrigued with this ’55-pound tournament, especially being [new] in the division. This is a new division .”
, I am excited to take over the weight class and territory.
That fresh start begins with Bellator’s newly-announced 155-pound grand prix, which features an eight-man field including McKee, Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, Benson Henderson, Tofiq Musayev, Alexander Shabliy, Mansour Barnaoui, Sidney Outlaw, and elder Pitbull brother Patricky Pitbull, as well as a $1 million grand prize.
Two of the opening round matchups have already been announced for Bellator 292 on March 10 — Nurmagomedov vs. Henderson and Musayev vs. Shabliy at the SAP Center in San Jose. A date and opponent for McKee’s opening round bout have yet to be finalized, but after tangling twice with Patricio Pitbull in the past, McKee thinks it makes all the sense in the world to match him up against Patricky Pitbull to kick off his own run in the bracket.
“Smart, man. “I don’t understand [that fight],” McKee saying that. McKee said, “I don’t understand why.” “I’ve fought the little brother so let’s see what the big one has. He’s a former champ as well. This is an excellent introduction to the tournament. This is something Brazil and America can support, so it’s something everyone can agree on. Not just A.J. McKee and fight lovers in general. This is a fight between families. .”
As for Bellator’s reigning lightweight champion, McKee said he is eager to test himself against Nurmagomedov, although he also warned the Dagestani fighter not to take his opening round matchup against the former UFC champ Henderson too lightly.
“[I want to fight him] if he gets past Benson. Bro, you can’t ignore Benson. McKee stated that Benson was a good dog. “He’s very well-rounded, very well-rounded. And I think if anybody is well-rounded, there’s a problem. That’s honestly one of my dream fights, Benson and I.
” So it could be me and him in the finals. But if not, I don’t care who it is. I’m coming for $1 million and eight names and another title, period.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/12/23551070/a-j-mckee-explains-re-signing-with-bellator-over-testing-open-market-fame-dont-pay-bills?rand=96749
