Bellator president Scott Coker praised A.J. McKee after his first-round finish over Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 263.
At the end of a very eventful night at Bellator 263, Bellator president Scott Coker walked away knowing that he has a new superstar in his promotion after A.J. McKee got the first-round finish over Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire to win the Featherweight World Grand Prix.
After weeks and months of anticipation for the dream matchup between Freire and McKee, it was the 26-year-old McKee that stole the show with a vicious head kick that dropped Freire in the opening minutes, which led to a standing guillotine choke to secure the win.
Coker thinks that McKee could become a transcending figure in Bellator for years to come.
“It’s spectacular, this kid is dynamite,” Coker said at his post-fight press conference. “This kid has a lot of confidence, a lot of swagger. He’s always believed in this. Growing up in the MMA community, this is nothing new for him. This was his opportunity to shine and he took advantage of it.”
McKee is now 18-0 in his professional career after defeating Freire to earn the featherweight title and survive the grind of the 16-man Featherweight World Grand Prix. On his way to the title, he defeated former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell and Derek Campos to earn a shot at Freire’s belt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CvIFnLBVr0?feature=oembed
Scott Coker has a new Bellator superstar in A.J. McKee
At one point after McKee earned the incredible win over Freire, he was the highest-trending topic on Twitter in North America. It was arguably the biggest night in the history of Bellator’s reign under Coker.
In terms of what could be next for McKee, Coker seemed open to a rematch with Freire for the 155-pound belt. McKee has voiced his intentions to eventually move up to lightweight and Coker reinforced this in his post-fight interview, saying that he had heard from McKee’s camp that he was having a difficult time making 145 pounds.
Regardless of who McKee fights next, one thing is abundantly clear: Coker has a new potential face of his promotion.