The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Mckee rises from ashes and smoke for Bellator
Call it a renaissance. Call it a new chapter. Call it a fresh start.
Whatever it is, A.J. Mckee’s lightweight debut, on the heels of his only professional MMA loss, comes tonight in his hometown of Long Beach.
For his father and lifelong coach, it is everything.
“He’s living my dreams. He’s doing what I would have dreamed to do. But there’s nothing greater, if I’m not doing it, than watching my son, who was born in Long Beach. Memorial Hospital,” Antonio Mckee said. “You know, he’s slaved his time on that turf. And now he’s coming back, and he’s coming back to be supported by his city. Big shout out to Bellator for making that happen.”
Born and raised in the 562, A.J. Mckee flashes a wide smile thinking of fighting at the Long Beach Arena. “Just so excited. It reminds me of high school wrestling days,” he said of his time at Long Beach Poly.
But 2022 hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the 27-year-old Mckee. Nine months after winning the $1 million Bellator World Featherweight Grand Prix title-fight finale with a firstround submission of champion Patricio Pitbull at The Forum, Mckee lost the title in a rematch via unanimous decision in April.
Mckee (18-1) believed that night in San Jose and to this day maintains he should still be undefeated. The fight stats show he landed 40 more total strikes and scored four takedowns to none for Pitbull.
Within two weeks after the fight, Mckee says he went into a funk enveloped
When: Where: How to watch: in a haze of marijuana smoke.
“Waking up smoking, smoking before going to bed, before training, after training, all day, on the way to training at night. OK, yeah, you don’t have a fight coming up. But it’s like, ‘Bro, why are you smoking so much? You got a vape pen here. I mean, you got your little weed cartridge.’ It’s like, ‘Just leave it all alone,’” Mckee said. “So I was able to really just look myself in the mirror and be like, ‘Yo, are you going to let this continue to affect you? Or are you going to bring it back?’ You know?
“And that was a big part. It was hard at first, because I realized I had a problem. And then it was like, ‘All right, well, do I really, really have a problem? Or am I just using this problem to cope with what I’m facing at the moment?’”
While Mckee wallowed, his father took a surprisingly different approach. In fact, Antonio Mckee admits he was happy with the outcome.
Not only was a major life lesson imparted to his son, but the end result could be the biggest payoff.
“Everyone was like, ‘Your son just lost.’ No, he didn’t. He won the fight. He lost the decision. But what he won, he won in life, because he got a chance to see the difference between when he applies himself and when he doesn’t,” Antonio Mckee said. “Yeah, everybody that saw the fight said he won. That’s great. Pitbull’s face showed he won.
“But what they didn’t see is we won in life because he made a life change after that. He stopped smoking. Now you guys woke up the monster. I’m excited as hell.”
What’s more, his 5-foot-10 son has moved up a weight class, leaving behind the grueling weight cuts. Once getting as high as 185 pounds, knowing he would need to shed 40 pounds, A.J. Mckee says he has been no higher than 170 pounds ahead of successfully making weight Friday morning.
And the extra 10 pounds of muscle, according to his dad, is noticeable in training.
“Man, I’ve hired people for this camp. Usually I can run this camp. Me!,” said the 52-year-old Antonio Mckee, a veteran of nearly 40 professional MMA fights who came out of a five-year retirement in 2019 to win on the same Bellator 228 card as his son. “I’ve had to hire people, because he’s so powerful, explosive and his timing, and it’s not one move. It’s the next move and the next. And it sucks!”
The first test in the 155-pound division is Spike Carlyle, a 29-year-old San Diego native and Orange resident who debuted in the UFC in 2020 and went 1-2 in 10 months before being cut.
Carlyle (14-3) has won five in a row in four promotions since being let go by the UFC. He initially weighed in Friday morning a pound over the 156-pound maximum, accounting for a 1-pound grace limit, then an hour later was still 0.6 pounds over before venting at the California State Athletic Commission for the scale being off and for not being given the proper time to step on the scale.
One day earlier, Carlyle was respectful of what the Mckees are all about but disagrees with being such a prohibitive underdog.
“What I really like about A.J. is that he has a strong relationship with his father. I know his father is a pioneer in the sport so I really respect that,” Carlyle said at media day Thursday. “He’s been a martial artist his whole life. So I have a lot of respect for that. As far as his capabilities and his athletic abilities, they’re not on my level.”
Antonio Mckee has always extolled the talents of his son, whether it was his striking, his grappling or the ability to fight off his back.
Now he sees all of that, with a clear mind and a larger frame. “He’s a different animal,” he said.
Best of all, they get start this new journey their own backyard.
“It’s phenomenal because Long Beach is such a great city, so many great athletes, artists and celebrities. Long Beach produces some of the best in everything,” A.J. Mckee said. “So for me to know I’m the best at my sport and at my craft and being able to bring everybody together in the city, I would just wish it was for a world title, you know? But being able to fight and go out there and put on a show for everybody in the city, it’s gonna be dope.” to in