A.J. McKee has made a statement in his return to featherweight, defeating Akhmed Magomedov via decision in the PFL Champions Series 2 portion of PFL Cape Town.
Round one saw both men trading strikes early, with Magomedov landing cleaner on the body and scoring a takedown. McKee, however, threatened submissions off his back and reversed position. McKee also turned up his striking pace late in the round.
Magomedov scored an early takedown in round two, but McKee quickly reversed and took the back with a body triangle. He hunted for a choke and struck Magomedov while maintaining control. McKee’s pressure was key for him in the second round.
Another grappling-heavy exchange in the final round saw Magomedov land a takedown, only to be swept and caught in a triangle attempt. McKee continued to threaten, taking Magomedov’s back again and landing strong ground-and-pound.
McKee scored a unanimous decision for the win.
A.J. McKee Successful In Featherweight Return, Defeats Akhmed Magomedov At PFL Cape Town
AJ McKee rallied a strong ending to R1 into R2 and hit some beautiful scrambles in R3, should easily get the nod here. Fought a bit differently than I expected, but I didn’t mind, showed some new stuff I liked to see. 145 is definitely his home, just looks so much better here.…
Let's just say that there is a reason that the UFC hasn't looked into bringing in AJ McKee… Dominant but boring. Hasn't finished a fight since 2021… #PFLCapeTown
McKee had won four straight between Bellator and PFL since moving up to lightweight but came up short against Paul Hughes in a close split decision at PFL Battle of the Giants in October.
Magomedov has now lost two of his last three. He defeated Nathan Kelly in January — his first fight in over two years after losing to Henry Corrales.
PFL Battle of the Giants: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira took place on pay-per-view Saturday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!
The Professional Fighters League hosted its second PPV of the year at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the main attraction saw former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou make his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts.
Having not competed in the cage since a victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022 — completing a pair of boxing matches opposite Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the period since — “The Predator” made an emphatic MMA comeback at the expense of last year’s PFL heavyweight title winner Renan Ferreira, whom he pummeled inside one round.
Setting the stage for the headliners was another Super Fights championship clash, with reigning Bellator featherweight queen Cris Cyborg debuting in the SmartCage opposite the PFL’s first two-weight champion, Larissa Pacheco. The 39-year-old legend continued to make history, capturing gold in a fifth major promotion by outpointing her fellow countrywoman.
Elsewhere, Bellator gold was on the line in the Middle East when middleweight champ Johnny Eblen ran it back with Fabian Edwards and the stakes were high when the massively touted Paul Hughes got a step up in competition against AJ McKee.
With the event concluded, see below for the full results, followed by all the highlights!
PFL Battle Of The Giants: Ngannou vs. Ferreira Results & Highlights
Main Card:
Heavyweight Superfight Championship: Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via KO (ground punches): R1, 3:32
Paul Hughes has now scored the biggest win of his career, edging out a decision over former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee to kick off the PFL Battle of the Giants main card.
In the first round, McKee looked to land aggressively, landing kicks and trying to control the fight by pushing Hughes to the fence. The Irishman responded well with strong strikes, however, including a big knee and punches in a scramble.
McKee attempted to take the fight to the ground, but Hughes defended well. The former Cage Warriors standout managed to drop the American right before the end of the first round, nearly finishing the fight there.
The fight remained competitive in the latter two rounds, though Hughes was putting up the stronger performance. “The Mercenary” looked to maintain his strategy of clinches and takedowns, looking to take the fight to the ground and keep it there. The Irish prospect, meanwhile, looked to use his hooks, combinations, and knees to keep McKee at bay, consistently looking to pressure until the final bell.
All three judges gave 29-28 scores, with two of them in Hughes’ favor, giving him the split decision win in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Paul Hughes Scores Major Decision Victory Over AJ McKee On PFL PPV card
That’s the biggest win outside of Conor McGregor in Irish MMA history.
Paul Hughes is one of the elite fighters in all of MMA.
Hughes, the former Cage Warriors champion who has won all but one of his MMA fights, entered this fight off a successful Bellator debut against Bobby King this past June.
McKee, meanwhile, saw a four-fight win streak snapped. He had entered this fight off a submission of Clay Collard at the PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view card in February.
The same stakes will also exist in the co-headliner as legend Cris Cyborg battles the PFL’s first two-weight title winner Larissa Pacheco for the featherweight belt, while Bellator gold will be on the line beforehand when Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards run it back.
PFL Battle Of The Giants: Ngannou vs. Ferreira Weigh-In Results
The PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” event takes place on Saturday, October 19, at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card begins at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, with the preliminary card starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
With that said, check out the full weigh-in results below!
Main Card:
Heavyweight Superfight Championship: Francis Ngannou (256.8lbs) vs. Renan Ferreira (261.5lbs)
First reported by @MagicM_MMABets on X, former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee is expected to be returning to take on one of the biggest prospects in the sport, Paul Hughes.
This was later confirmed by several other media sources, including MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck.
A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes is targeted for the PFL PPV in October, per multiple sources. First reported by @MagicM_MMABets. Story coming to MMA Fighting.
Hughes Set For Major Matchup In Second PFL Assignment
Ireland’s Hughes made his debut for the promotion earlier this year after signing to the PFL, stopping Bobby King in the second round at a Bellator Champions Series event following his run in Cage Warriors.
“Big News” made it clear after that fight that he had big-name opponents in mind, and that’s certainly what he’s got on his hands on October 19 should these reports come to fruition.
McKee, meanwhile, put in a standout performance at February’s PFL vs. Bellator event in Saudi Arabia when he submitted longtime PFL veteran Clay Collard in the first round.
Now he will look to welcome Hughes to the very top tier of competition in this promotion in a clash between Bellator’s biggest homegrown talent and one of the PFL’s most exciting additions.
Main-event billing for what is shaping up to be the biggest card of the year for the PFL goes to the long-awaited clash between Ngannou and Renan Ferreira, who knocked out Bellator champion Ryan Bader at the previously mentioned PFL vs. Bellator card.
In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg faces Larissa Pacheco in another highly anticipated and long-awaited meeting between the two dominant female forces on the combined PFL and Bellator rosters.
A location is yet to be confirmed for this event, though it has long been expected to be taking place in Saudi Arabia.
A massive Bellator double-header is booked for April 15 when AJ McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull II and Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson take place in the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Both McKee and Pitbull fought their way through the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix last year to make it to the finals. On July 31, 2021, the two met in the final with the featherweight belt and one million dollars on the line. Pitbull was holding the strap coming in, but it would be McKee who would walk out with it. He was able to stop Freire by submission in the first round.
McKee was on the last fight of his Bellator contract, but winning the title renewed it. He will now begin his title reign against a very formidable foe. Prior to losing the featherweight title, Pitbull was simultaneously holding the lightweight belt as well. He decided to vacate that 155-pound belt so that his brother could have a shot at it. Now without any belt, Pitbull will be coming in hard against McKee to regain what he lost.
In the co-main event, we will see the finals of the light heavyweight grand prix when defending champion Vadim Nemkov takes on Corey Anderson. To reach this point, Nemkov defeated Phil Davis and Julius Anglickas while Anderson defeated Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Ryan Bader, both via TKO.
Which two fighters do you think will emerge victorious in this massive double-header?
With a UFC event on nearly every weekend in a year, it is easy to lose sight of the other fights going on in MMA. Every week there are big moments happening in the sport across the United States and all around the world.
As we move deeper into the new year, let’s look at four names who had exceptional years in MMA, with that success happening outside of the UFC cage. For this article, we selected three fighters that excelled in their respective promotion. Representing Bellator is AJ McKee Jr. For PFL, we picked Antonio Carlos Junior. And for RIZIN, you had to go with Hiromasa Ougikubo.
McKee Jr. Reaches Top Of The Bellator Mountain
(via Bellator MMA)
In July, AJ McKee Jr. saw himself facing Patricio Pitbull in the finals of a 16-man featherweight tournament. But his fight wasn’t just the culmination of that bout. In a sense, it was the conclusion to his 18-fight run up the Bellator ranks.
After a short amateur run, McKee Jr. signed with Bellator in 2015 and made his professional debut under their banner. He attained a flawless record through the year, finishing most of his opponents in a flashy fashion.
In 2019, he joined the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix—a bracket that, if successful, would crown him champion. After three finish wins in previous years in the bracket, he was matched this year against Pitbull, one of Bellator’s all-time greats.
McKee Jr. was able to catch Pitbull in just the second minute, putting on the submission after hurting him with a head kick. And with that, he became the new king of Bellator’s 145-pound division.
Four Wins And An Overdue Crowning Moment For Ougikubo
Hiromasa Ougikubo (RIZIN FF)
RIZIN bantamweight Hiromasa Ougikubo has long been recognized as a solid fighter. Viewers of Shooto Japan and RIZIN will know him as one of the stronger names at bantamweight. If not for that reason, many will recognize him from Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he scored three wins before being eliminated by Tim Elliott.
However, Ougikubo never had his real big moment as a fighter. He never earned a major championship, and he never won in a major main event.
In 2021, he showed his skills by winning RIZIN’s rigorous bantamweight tournament. To start the bracket, he defeated veterans Takeshi Kasugai and Takafumi Otsuka in June and September respectively.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, he beat two big challenges in one night. First, he fought to a unanimous decision against former UFC fighter Naoki Inoue, giving him his first loss since joining the promotion.
Later in the night, he avenged a loss against Kai Asakura with a thorough decision victory. The win came in the main event of RIZIN 33, which was the promotion’s biggest event of the year. More than a decade-and-a-half into his career, Ougikubo got his big moment in MMA.
Carlos Junior Bounces Back In Major Fashion
Image Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images
Unlike others on this list, Antonio Carlos Junior’s year actually started in the UFC. After losing a fight in January 2021 against Brad Tavares, Carlos Junior found himself off the promotion’s roster.
Carlos Junior secured a spot in the playoffs with his first fight, submitting fellow UFC alum Tom Lawlor in the first round with a guillotine choke.
He scored his biggest win of the year in the semi-finals, defeating 2019 champion Emiliano Sordi on scorecards. In October, he was put against tournament underdog Marthin Hamlet in the grand finals. That was a quick win for Carlos Junior, submitting him in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Carlos Junior started the year cut from the largest MMA promotion in the world. But he ended the year as a champion – and a millionaire.
Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee is hoping to test his skills against the best in combat sports, including Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
McKee has quickly developed into one of the top mixed martial artists in the world. At the age of just 26, “Mercenary” has built an unblemished 18-0 record, which includes 13 finishes, beating the likes of Darrion Caldwell and Patricio Pitbull, and having Bellator’s 145-pound strap wrapped around his waist.
After an incredible neck crank submission victory over Caldwell in November 2020 sent him to the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, McKee established himself as the top dog in the division by dethroning then-double champ Pitbull. A first-round choke secured his place on the throne and his spot amongst the global featherweight elite.
At such a young age, McKee has plenty of time to boost his skills and close any gap there might be between himself and the likes of Volkanovski and Max Holloway, and perhaps even crossover to MMA’s premier organization to challenge them. But his ambitions don’t end at facing the best in the cage.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, McKee revealed his aspirations to challenge the greatest across all realms of combat. With that in mind, he’s hoping to test his abilities against former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and legendary undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather inside the squared circle.
“Hell yeah (I’ll box McGregor), what’s up, he’s got a couple fights left, Showtime Boxing, let’s do it. Definitely, I’ll box anybody… I’m a fighter. I want to test my skills against the best. That’s why I’ve always called out Floyd. It’s not like, ‘Ah, I wanna beat Floyd.’ I wanna test my skills, hand-to-hand combat, with one of the best athletes in hand-to-hand combat.
“I’m down for anybody. If it’s 145, ’55, 170, boxing I’ll go up three weight classes, what do I have to lose? It ain’t affecting my mixed martial arts career record. For me, it’s all money moves and fun and games.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXUFj3AvnQX/
With Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Frank Mir, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley all crossing over to the ring across the past year, a Mayweather and McGregor callout from a rising MMA champion isn’t as crazy as it would have seemed prior to 2021.
Should McKee continue his dominance in Bellator and possibly make the transition to the UFC, perhaps we’ll see him lace the boxing gloves against top names like “The Notorious” McGregor and “Money” Mayweather in the coming years. Having previously called out the latter, it seems that’s who McKee really has his sights set on.
Would you like to see AJ McKee test his skills in the ring against Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather?
