AJ McKee delivers Patricio Freire in less than 2 minutes

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INglewood, CA – For six years AJ McKee has repeatedly said he will one day be the Bellator champ.

Saturday in front of his hometown crowd, with a $1 million win bonus on the line, Mackie fulfilled that dream when he delivered Patricio Freire via a standing guillotine choke in 1:57 of the first round.

Bellator 263 signed Saturday at the Forum. The main card aired on Showtime after the preliminary shows on MMA Junkie.

The two fighters entered the arena to an opposite reception. The challenger, Maki came out first to applaud and fans sing his song. The hero, Freire, was met with harsh boos.

When the fight began, both fighters came out slowly and methodically. An early staring contest was broken when McKee took a high kick that surprised Pitbull and sent him into the cage. The violent punching combination brought down the Freire and Mackie celebration.

The celebration was a bit premature for referee Mike Beltran who didn’t get involved. Pitbull tried to jump to his feet, but McKee grabbed the Brazilian’s neck and was strangled by a standing guillotine. From there, the submission was closed and the technical submission came.

Make a million dollars! 💰 @AJMcKee101 PatricioPitbull stopped out to become the Bellator World Featherweight Champion. Fabulous!

Historic moment at TheForum. # Bellator 263 pic.twitter.com/fg75zEKrta

– BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021

The tournament started in September 2019 with 16 fighters. Freire defeated Juan Archuleta by decision, Pedro Carvalho by knockout, and Emmanuel Sanchez by surrendering to the lead. Meanwhile, Maki Georgi Karakhanian finished by knockout, Derek Campos served up, and Darion Caldwell finished by knockout.

With the victory, Mackie maintains his unbeaten career run – and extends to 18. All of his professional fights came under the Bellator banner with 13 finishes in that span.

Money 💰 #Bellator263 pic.twitter.com/5gByAT8GhJ

– BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021

As for Freire, the longtime featherweight champion Bellator has lost 145 pounds for the first time since he dumped a unanimous decision to Daniel Strauss at Bellator 145 in 2015. The defeat ends with a seven-game winning streak on the Pitbull that included an out-of-championship match against Michael Chandler.

Although he lost the Bellator featherweight title, Freire still holds the 155-pound promotion title.

The Bellator 263 results include:

A.J. McKee def. Patricio Freire by submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:57 – for the featherweight title; The final Grand Prix in featherweight won by Burnell. Emmanuel Sanchez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) defeated Osman Nurmagomedov. Mane Moreau via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 3:30 Islam Mammadov defeated. Brent Primus via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) defeated Goethe Yamauchi. Chris Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:03 defeated Vanessa Porto. Ilara Juan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) defeated Gadzi Rabadanov. Daniel Carey by KO (punches) – Round 1, 3:57 defeated Khasan Magomedsharipov. Jonathan Keyrose via TKO (ground and pound) – 2nd round, 4:21 defeated Joshua Jones. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (ground and pound) – 2nd round, 4:15 defeated Georgi Karakhanyan. Kiefer Crosby by submission (triangle arm choke) – Round 1, 4:25 defeated Brian Moore. Jordan Winsky via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) AJ McKee def. Patricio ‘Pitbull’ at Bellator 263 – Best of Bellator 263 Showcase 21 photos Photos: Best of Bellator 263 Show 30 photos

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