"I'll buy him lunch" - Dana White reacts to a bet that A.J. McKee allegedly made with him when he was 13 years old

UFC president Dana White has reacted to a supposed bet he made with A.J. McKee when the Bellator star was just 13 years old.

This past weekend at Bellator 263, A.J. McKee finally completed his rise to the top of the Bellator featherweight division with an emphatic submission win over Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire.

A.J. McKee was able to rock 'Pitbull' with a nice head kick, drop him with an uppercut and finally submit him to become the new Bellator featherweight champion - winning the title tournament and the $1 million prize in the process.

Can anyone beat A.J. McKee?

It was the kind of win that was impossible to ignore and that goes for the entire mixed martial arts community.

After the bout, A.J. McKee suggested that when he met Dana White at the age of 13, he made a bet with him that he’d “owe him lunch” if he ever became a world champion. When asked about it during an interview with UFC Arabia, White had the following to say.

“That’s awesome. Well, if I said it I will keep my word and I’ll buy him lunch! I haven’t seen it [the win over Pitbull], I didn’t even see our fight on Saturday unfortunately [Hall vs Strickland], I haven’t seen his. But good for him and that’s an awesome story.”

Catch Dana White's full interview with UFC Arabia below:

There are some rising contenders in this sport that deserve a lot of attention and right now, few are more exciting than A.J. McKee. He’s undefeated, he’s a champion, and he’s one of the most marketable guys Bellator has had at their disposal in a long time.

Of course, all of those factors also mean there’s a good chance the UFC could come calling once A.J. McKee’s contract with Bellator expires.

WHAT A FINISH 😱@ajmckee101 landed the head kick and then choked Pitbull out 🏆 (via @BellatorMMA, @SHOsports) pic.twitter.com/bHgmknSyt8

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 1, 2021

Scott Coker knows and understands the level of ambition that comes with being a special talent like A.J. McKee, which is why we can’t imagine he’d begrudge him the opportunity to move over to the UFC in the future.

For now, though, building the A.J. McKee name is the responsibility of Bellator and we’re fascinated to see where this journey goes from here.