AJ McKee and Alexander Volkanovski
Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee wasn’t impressed with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 273 and we look at whether he stands a chance against the Aussie
Bellator 277 will feature a featherweight title rematch between AJ McKee and Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire. Pitbull had lost his featherweight belt to McKee at Bellator 263 due to a guillotine choke in the very first round. The rematch is scheduled to be held on the 15th of April.
Ahead of the scheduled rematch, both fighters along with President Scott Coker spoke to the media about their upcoming event. `When asked about the past weekend’s UFC 273 main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Korean Zombie, McKee said
‘I wasn’t too impressed. Honestly I feel myself and Pitbull can hang with any 45er in the world. You know, that’s no discredit to any other featherweight in the world. But I strongly believe that Bellator has the best 145 lbs. division in the world. I got a million dollars to back it, I know he’s [Pitbull] has got his own money to back it. Scott’s got a nice cheque to back it. ”
He even opened up to the idea of a cross-promotion fight, which was in the same stretch backed by his president Scott Coker. He said,
” I would love to do a cross-promotion fight. Yeah the Volkanovski fight, my fight IQ is just a bit different. He’s real heavy on his back foot and keeps it sideways, which means that he only has vertical movements, when he strikes. So his lateral movement is obsolete. ”
Coker later said, ”Please call them and send them over, we are happy to fight them anytime.”
AJ has one of the slickest submission game in the MMA world today, and he can transition from unconventional takedown attempts, to taking an opponent’s back or working from an unorthodox position quite effortlessly. He is currently ranked no.1 in the Bellator men’s pound for pound rankings, and in many people’s opinion is most likely to end up in the UFC someday.
While the possibility of this fight seems far-fetched now, a fantasy match-up between these champions is food for thought. While AJ gets the upper hand for being creative and moving in and out of range seamlessly, the sheer strength and discipline of Volkanovski are what separates him from the rest.
Volkanovski is one of the most composed and disciplined fighter in the game today, where he’s always following a systematic path to victory and manages to stay controlled even when in trouble. AJ on the other hand thrives when he’s in control of the fight, where his creativity flourishes.
The answer comes down to who can push their will and fighting style against the other. If Volkanovski can manage to stay controlled and not fall into the puzzling traps and hoodwinks of AJ, he can sail through victory possibly with a decision win or late stoppage.
AJ on the other hand has to ensure that he does not allow Volkanovksi to settle into his game and take control of the center of the octagon. He has to keep Volkanovski on the back pedal, not allowing him any room to be dictate the pace of the fight. If he works with his usual flair just about right, Volk might shoot in for a takedown and AJ can possibly work some submissions from his back if he gets the Aussie tired.
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