On Friday’s Bellator 212, A.J. McKee improved his already flawless professional record to 13-0 when he earned the anaconda choke victory over Daniel Crawford. With all 13 victories occurring under the Bellator banner, it begs the question: Just when is enough enough? At 23 years, A.J. McKee is still considered by many to be an up-and-comer, but McKee believes that he has already arrived and is ready to make his presence felt in a featherweight title bout against Patricío “Pitbull” Freire (via MMAjunkie):
“You can go back to my interviews, my first fight,” McKee told reporters following Bellator 212. “’Pitbull,’ I’ve got a leash and a kennel waiting for you. That belt’s bounced around through a lot of people. Straus, ‘Pitbull,’ Welch, Pat Curran, it’s bounced around. When I get that belt, it’s not bouncing around. It’s not leaving. It’s going to stay around my waist then I’m going to go up to 155 and do it again.”
One criticism that has befallen McKee is that he has not faced a high enough level of competition for him to be considered ready for a title shot. McKee made one thing perfectly clear when speaking to reporters: he can’t control the opponent, but he can control the result, which is exactly what he has done:
“For me, I’m just going to keep signing contracts, kicking ass and taking names,” McKee said. “I don’t call anyone out. I don’t say who I want to fight. If you don’t have that belt, I don’t want to fight you. You’re irrelevant to me.”
Do you believe A.J. McKee is ready for a featherweight title shot?
