In the past, A.J. McKee has spoken publicly about wanting to fight in the UFC, and maybe some day it’ll happen. But it won’t be anytime soon.
Not after McKee, 30, re-signed with the PFL in November, a decision he’s very pleased with.
Advertisement
“All is well, man,” McKee recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I can’t complain. Life’s good. I re-signed with PFL. They’re taking care of me. This is my home. They’re doing really big things.”
Among the “big things” happening? This Saturday there’s PFL Madrid (ESPN+) at Palacia Vistalegre, which will mark the first time a major MMA promotion will host an event in Spain. The first fight on McKee’s new deal will be part of it as he meets Adam Borics in a featherweight co-main event.
A former Bellator featherweight champion, McKee spent 2022 to 2024 trying his hand as a lightweight. He’d won his first four fights at 155 pounds before dropping a split decision to Paul Hughes in October 2024. He returned to featherweight last July when he beat Akhmed Magomedov by unanimous decision.
Prior to the merger, McKee was among Bellator’s biggest stars during the Scott Coker era, and things have remained rosy with him and the PFL these past few years. McKee said he never got to the point of free agency this time thanks to the PFL securing him with a good deal.
Advertisement
“They gave me everything I wanted and some, so I decided to move back down to featherweight and just continue the legacy there,” McKee said.
The re-signing means McKee will remain with the PFL for the foreseeable future. How long exactly remains to be seen. As much as McKee has expressed a past desire to test himself in the UFC, the one thing he’s sure about is that he won’t do so at the expense of his own value.
“For me, at the end of the day, I’m a business,” McKee said. “I don’t really care what the title of the organization is, whether it’s UFC, PFL, ONE FC, wherever it is. PFL takes really good care of me. I’ve always made seven figures, so to take a paycut and go somewhere else, to lower my standard of myself as a business just doesn’t make sense. At the end of the day, I have a family, I have people that need to eat, and I need to provide not only for myself but for my future family. So as a business, I have to look at things strategically and in a smart manner.
“When it comes to myself as a business, PFL has done nothing but admire my skill set, appreciate my skill set, and look out for my skill set. That’s where that is. My home is PFL.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: A.J. McKee explains re-signing with PFL, won’t take pay cut from UFC
