Patricio Freire vs. AJ McKee.
The Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix finally has a winner and it’s AJ McKee.
The tournament, which was delayed due to COVID-19, finally came to an end when the reigning two-division champion squared off with the one who many thought could be the new face of Bellator MMA.
The beef between then champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and McKee heated up when some trash talk at the post-fight press conference went a bit too far and the pair nearly came to blows. That heat was carried over into their fight, clearly. This bout was one that many fans had said from day 1 would be the best final, and they were right.
Critics were calling this the biggest fight in Bellator history … and they were right.
It took just minutes for McKee to land damaging strikes to Freire, then got him into a standing guillotine where he put Bellator’s pound-for-pound king to sleep.
Who won the Bellator 263 Featherweight Grand Prix?
The tournament started with 16 featherweights including: Emmanuel Sanchez, Tywan Claxton, Pedro Carvalho, Sam Sicilia, Adam Borics, Pat Curran, Derek Campos, Daniel Straus, Daniel Weichel, Saul Rogers, Darrion Caldwell, Henry Corrales, AJ McKee, Georgi Karakhanyan, Juan Archuletta and champion, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Bellator 263 takes place on July 31, 2021, live from Forum in Los Angeles, CA. Follow along with FanSided who is cageside for all your live news and highlights.