{"id":18277,"date":"2026-06-26T21:02:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=18277"},"modified":"2026-06-26T21:02:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:02:56","slug":"a-j-mckee-hopes-pfl-san-diego-leads-to-more-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=18277","title":{"rendered":"A.J. McKee hopes PFL San Diego leads to more gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Is it the fight A.J. McKee has been anticipating? No.<\/p>\n

Is it an opponent that has been on his radar? Not exactly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig risk, little reward,\u201d the PFL star said.<\/p>\n

But the timing and location work out well as the Long Beach 145-pounder waits to claim another featherweight title and steps into the cage against undefeated Salamat Isbulaev in the PFL San Diego main event Saturday.<\/p>\n

Read more Gracie the Giraffe, who went missing after wandering off a Texas ranch, is finally found<\/a><\/p>\n

McKee, 31, continues to bide his time in recapturing a gold strap. In 2021, he won Bellator MMA\u2019s $1 million Bellator World Featherweight Grand Prix with a first-round submission of champion Patricio Pitbull, only to lose the title in a rematch eight months later.<\/p>\n

Now in PFL MMA, which bought Bellator in November 2023, McKee is patient as featherweight champion Timur Khizriev recovers from sustaining non-life-threatening injuries after being shot five times by two masked gunmen in July in Dagestan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it gets me one step closer to the title, hopefully. If not, I don\u2019t really see what was the point of taking this fight,\u201d McKee said in an exclusive interview Wednesday night. \u201cI\u2019m excited that I\u2019m getting excited again, you know? Staying active and keeping busy. That\u2019s always my key, and so being able to stay active and fight multiple times a year is always a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKee (24-2) is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over veteran contender Adam Borics in March in Madrid. The former Long Beach Poly wrestling star was expected to use his stellar grappling to exploit a perceived hole in Borics\u2019 game, but McKee was content to keep the fight on the feet.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI think I just, I realized my speed is the key, being able to fight a bigger guy, a striker, and being able to beat these guys at their game, you know?\u201d said McKee, who earned a 30-37, 30-37, 29-28 decision. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of been my whole thing lately, is wanting to beat people at their game, so standing up with a striker like that, outstriking, and literally to the point where like, yeah, he landed a couple punches, but overall on the feet, I think I outstruck him all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

The triumph came eight months after McKee abandoned a 10-pound move up to lightweight, where he went 4-1, and returned to featherweight to defeat Akhmed Magomedov, one of many Dagestani disciples of former UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov, by taking him down and outwrestling him.<\/p>\n

Read more Judge blocks Tennessee from reporting sick children to immigration authorities, for now<\/a><\/p>\n

Now McKee is willing to do the same against the 29-year-old Isbulaev (10-0), who has finished all of his opponents but one in the first round. That includes a first-round knockout upset of former PFL featherweight champ Jesus Pinedo in February in his PFL debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what he expects to happen or what he thinks is going to happen, but I can say that if he plans on wrestling, I think he\u2019s going to be surprised at how good my wrestling and grappling is,\u201d McKee said. \u201cMaybe he might want to stand up. He might think he\u2019s got a chance on the feet \u2026 but I think once he realizes that\u2019s not going well, he\u2019s gonna rely on wrestling and try to get a takedown and just kind of hold it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Therein lies the blessing in being a decorated all-around fighter. Trained by his father Antonio, McKee has put away opponents with his fists, elbows, kicks and submissions.<\/p>\n

Having the cardio behind all of those skills makes McKee a handful for any fighter. With Isbulaev\u2019s penchant for one-round fights, McKee is looking forward to turning up the volume and seeing how far the fight can go.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t made it out of the second round, so I think going in there at 100 and (bleeping) 10 miles an hour, the whole first round, the whole second round, and hopefully he\u2019s out of there by then,\u201d he said. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t really made it out of that second round, so I think with my pace, maybe I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be able to keep up with that pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Mel Brooks is turning 100 this weekend, a look at his career<\/a><\/p>\n

PFL SAN DIEGO<\/h4>\n

Main event:<\/strong> Featherweights A.J. McKee (24-2) vs. Salamat Isbulaev (1-0)<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Saturday<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Pechanga Arena, San Diego<\/p>\n

How to watch:<\/strong> Prelims (4 p.m., ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., ESPN2)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Long Beach featherweight, who has patiently waited for a title shot, admits to ‘big risk, little reward’ in fighting unbeaten Salamat Isbulaev on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nA.J. 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