Aspiring 'Floyd Mayweather of MMA' A.J. McKee aims to stay unbeaten at Bellator 197

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – A.J. McKee isn’t willing to part with his undefeated record any time soon, and he said Bellator 197 opponent Justin Lawrence won’t be the one to disrupt his plans.

McKee (10-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA), who meets Lawrence (11-4 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in the featherweight co-headliner of Friday’s Paramount-televised card at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., following prelims on MMAjunkie, knows what kind of pressure rests on his shoulders as an undefeated fighter. McKee relishes it, though, and said he wants his record to remain unblemished forever.

“That undefeated record, I’m not looking for that to go anywhere,” McKee told MMAjunkie. “That’s part of my goal of what I want to do in this sport: Be the Floyd (Mayweather) of MMA. With so many different angles of kicks and punches and all different things, for all the opportunities for me to get caught, it’s phenomenal for me to be undefeated. Of course, everyone wants to take that notch and be the first to win over me, but that (expletive) ain’t happening.”

McKee made his pro debut under the Bellator banner in April 2015 and has since fought exclusively for the promotion. His 10-fight winning streak is the longest in Bellator history, but McKee and Bellator have come under scrutiny for moving him along too slowly in terms of climbing competition.

“The Mercenary” has said he doesn’t necessarily disagree with those criticisms, but he leaves it up to his team and matchmakers to decide his opponents. That’s come with some negative consequences, though, because McKee admits it’s led to “slacking” in his preparation. He views Lawrence as a real challenge, though, and said he’s trained with that mentality.

“It’s not that I haven’t fought anybody; it’s that I haven’t fought anybody on my level,” McKee said. “Me knowing that, I knew I could take shortcuts and mess around and train three weeks and still pull out a W. With Justin Lawrence, there’s no short-cutting. He’s made me train. He’s made me really put in a full eight-week camp and train. There was no slacking. Just grind, grind, grind for eight weeks.

“I’m excited to see what I can go out there and can do and make a statement. People always say, ‘Who have I fought? I haven’t fought anybody.’ Now it’s time for me to make an example out of someone, and Justin Lawrence is that person.”

At 23, McKee admits he’s fell victim to the temptations that can present themselves to a young athlete with growing notoriety. He’s come to learn that there are “sacrifices” required in accomplishing his MMA goals, though, and because of that he’s as disciplined as ever going into Bellator 197.

McKee believes there’s something for him to prove. Lawrence has been around the game much longer and has fought in some major promotions outside of Bellator, including UFC, Strikeforce and RFA. McKee gets additional motivation out of the perception he could face some danger from Lawrence, and he said the result of that is going to be an eye-opening win.

“I feel like (my last opponent) Brian Moore is a gatekeeper, and Justin Lawrence is a gatekeeper to those title fights,” McKee said. “I’m looking to go in there and make an example out of Justin Lawrence. Who has really finished him? No one’s knocked him out on his feet; no one’s really finished him. So I’m going to go in there and make a statement and do something no one’s done. That’s the difference.”

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