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After A.J. McKee destroyed Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire to win the Bellator featherweight title, it’s hard to deny that he is the real deal. A phenomenally well-rounded fighter, A.J. McKee is clearly one of the best 145lbers on the planet.
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A.J. McKee is undoubtedly a great fighter, but could he really enter the UFC and dominate its featherweight division?
For now at least, it’s unlikely that we’ll find out, as McKee – despite his calls for inter-promotional fights – is tied to Bellator for a lengthy time.
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But the truth is that the UFC’s featherweight division is an entirely different landscape to Bellator’s, which is a far smaller talent pool. And so this means that the UFC probably has a number of 145lbers who could defeat McKee right now.
So with this considered, here are five UFC featherweights who have a good chance of beating A.J. McKee.
#5 Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. A.J. McKee
While he hasn’t fought in the UFC since his November 2019 victory over Calvin Kattar, Russia’s Zabit Magomedsharipov remains one of the most dangerous featherweights on the promotion’s roster. And that almost certainly means he’d have a good shot at beating A.J. McKee if they were to fight.
For as well-rounded as McKee is, it’s hard to deny that Magomedsharipov may be slightly better than him in all areas.
‘The Mercenary’ strikes brilliantly, and holds six of his 18 career wins via knockout. But while Magomedsharipov might not be as heavy-handed as McKee, he does have as many knockouts on his ledger. And what’s more, he’s a masterful and creative striker with a brilliant grasp of range, giving him the ability to pick opponents apart.
Magomedsharipov is also fantastic on the ground. He’s averaged a total of five takedowns per fight in his UFC tenure, and has only ever been put on the ground twice in return – both in his UFC debut.
His scrambling ability is second-to-none, as we witnessed when he caught Brandon Davis in the ultra-rare Suloev stretch submission at UFC 228.
Magomedsharipov’s lone weakness appears to be his cardio, but that could well be because he pushes the pace so hard at the beginning of his fights.
If he can control that, he would probably be a nightmare fight of sorts for A.J. McKee and would be favored to win a clash between the two.
#4 Yair Rodriguez vs. A.J. McKee
Currently ranked at #3 in the UFC featherweight division, Yair Rodriguez has carved out a reputation for himself as one of the most explosive and creative fighters competing in any of the UFC’s weight divisions.
‘El Pantera’ is a remarkably dangerous fighter, particularly on the feet. His unorthodox nature is largely what makes him such a dangerous striker, as he’s willing to throw strikes that others simply wouldn’t try.
Somehow though, these strikes tend to pay off for the Mexican, as we’ve seen him knock out the likes of Chan Sung Jung and Andre Fili with incredibly low-percentage shots.
Rodriguez is also a highly underrated grappler. His fights with Leonardo Morales and Charles Rosa featured plenty of ground exchanges and scrambles – most of which were won by ‘El Pantera’.
And while he doesn’t land that many takedowns, he’s hard to keep grounded and holds a takedown defense rate of 63%.
The only man to defeat Rodriguez in the UFC thus far has been Frankie Edgar, and back in 2017, ‘The Answer’ was a battle-tested veteran who was more than capable of beating any other featherweight on the planet.
This fight would still be a winnable one for A.J. McKee, as his more traditional style and well-rounded skills would allow him to emulate Edgar’s style. But the more likely outcome would be that ‘The Mercenary’ wouldn’t cope with Rodriguez’s explosive and eccentric style, and would fall to defeat.
#3 Brian Ortega vs. A.J. McKee
Currently preparing for his second attempt at winning the UFC featherweight title, Brian Ortega is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous 145lbs fighters on the planet right now.
‘T-City’ holds an incredible record of 15-1, and boasts UFC wins over the likes of Cub Swanson, Chan Sung Jung and Frankie Edgar. If he can beat Alexander Volkanovski, then he’ll rightly be recognized as the best featherweight on the planet.
Could he also defeat Bellator champion A.J. McKee? It seems highly likely. Not only is Ortega far more proven against top-level opponents, he’s also one of those rare fighters who simply doesn’t have any weaknesses.
‘T-City’ is most well-known for his grappling skills. A high-level black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Ortega has seven tapout victories to his name, including three in the UFC. It seems inconceivable that anyone – including A.J. McKee – could outgrapple him.
And on the feet, he’s always possessed power – proven by the fact that he was the first man to knock out Frankie Edgar.
But judging on his win over Jung, he now also possesses a highly technical pressure boxing game that should allow him to succeed standing with any opponent.
To add to that, ‘T-City’ is remarkably durable, able to absorb insane amounts of punishment, and he can never be counted out of any fight, having finished four of his UFC opponents in the third round.
A fight between Ortega and A.J. McKee would definitely be a fantastic one – but it’s also fair to say that ‘T-City’ ought to be favored to win.
#2 Alexander Volkanovski vs. A.J. McKee
The reigning UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, might be one of the most underrated fighters on the planet right now, probably because his fighting style simply isn’t as flashy as some of his rivals.
There’s no denying, however, that ‘Alexander the Great’ is remarkably effective inside the octagon. His UFC record of 9-0 is second to none, and the list of fighters he’s beaten is also an eye-opener, as it includes Darren Elkins, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo and Max Holloway.
Volkanovski isn’t the best finisher in the UFC featherweight division, as five of his nine wins have gone the distance. However, that hasn’t stopped him from being largely dominant every time he’s stepped inside the octagon.
The Australian lands almost twice as many strikes as he absorbs per minute, and can throw in combinations as well as haymakers when a fight requires it. And he’s also a surprisingly excellent wrestler, with a takedown defense rate of 72%.
In fact, the only men to take him down in recent fights were Mendes and Elkins – two of the better wrestlers in the 145lbs division.
A.J. McKee is perhaps a better finisher than Volkanovski, but he’d have to catch him with something heavy or take him down in order to pull a finish off, and both seem highly unlikely given what ‘Alexander the Great’ has done thus far.
And so that means that in a clash pitting Volkanovski against A.J. McKee, the UFC featherweight champion would have to be favored.
#1 Max Holloway vs. A.J. McKee
While he may have suffered two defeats at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski – losing his UFC featherweight crown in the process – there’s still an argument that Max Holloway is the best 145lber on the planet right now.
And it’s also hard to fathom a way that Bellator featherweight kingpin A.J. McKee could defeat the dangerous Hawaiian if they were to face off inside the cage.
Holloway is simply an incredible fighter with absolutely no weaknesses. Primarily a striker, ‘Blessed’ was once known as a volume-based kickboxer. In his win over Calvin Kattar in January, though, he showed some incredible improvements in his boxing game – and landed a ludicrous 445 significant strikes across five rounds.
Essentially, it’s unlikely that any other fighter could match that kind of pace and volume on the feet – and Holloway hits with serious power, too. He’s also insanely durable, having never lost via strikes in his MMA career.
It’s also been a well-known fact for years that the Hawaiian is a highly dangerous grappler and an underrated wrestler. Holloway has a takedown defense rate of 84%, and while some fighters have taken him down, holding him there has proven far more difficult.
And what’s more, ‘Blessed’ has a very dangerous submission game, with his wins over Cub Swanson and Andre Fili both coming via a nasty guillotine choke that made full use of his long arms.
A.J. McKee may be rightfully confident in his skills, but in all honesty, he likely isn’t superior to Holloway in any area. A.J. McKee would almost certainly come out second best in a fight between the two.
