KEY POINTS
- Bellator's AJ McKee has been undefeated as a pro
- McKee wants to make the most money out of his career just like Floyd Mayweather
- The featherweight champion believes he can beat both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Mayweather
A celebrated MMA star is eager to succeed by tactfully mixing business and sports.
Reigning Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee is having the time of his life and has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Having gone unbeaten since turning pro in 2015, the self-proclaimed “Floyd Mayweather of MMA” has vowed to keep it that way until his career is over.
Like Mayweather, McKee also wants to make the most money out of what he does best. As early as now, he already has a goal—to be worth “$100 million.”
“Like I’ve said from Day 1: I’m the ‘Floyd Mayweather of MMA’,” McKee recently told CBS Sports. “Take it or leave it. Be happy with it, argue about it. The proof is in the pudding. I had to go through and look at my record. 18 fights. I’ve fought 33 rounds and haven’t lost a round yet. I’m kind of excited about that. That’s kind of gangster to me. That’s some saucy stats.”
“I’m excited to see what Bellator’s future holds,” he continued. “$100 million is my goal. I want to make that 100 [million]. This is a bigger, better and more evolved sport, by the time I’m 50-0, definitely will need 100 [million].”
This wasn’t the first time McKee opened up about his future plans.
In a rare interview last year, “Mercenary” claimed that he could beat Khabib Nurmagomedov, having been honed by his father, who had a “similar style” of fighting to the former UFC lightweight champion.
“Me versus Khabib? The thing is, the thing about that fight is my father has a similar style to Khabib,” the 26-year-old explained. “And my father’s style, he taught how to beat my father.”
As for a fight with Mayweather, McKee implied that he can also take out “Money,” but he wouldn’t do so out of “respect.”
“[Mayweather] needs to fight people that respect him not just makin’ it the ‘money fights’,” he continued. “I respect him as an athlete, I’m not gonna go there and try to knock his head off, I respect him and I just wanna share that moment with him and just greatness and being able to compare myself to him, and test my skills, I’m not gonna go out there and dismantle the man.”
McKee is considered one of Bellator’s biggest stars. To date, he boasts an impressive 18-0 record, 13 of which were all finishes.
Floyd Mayweather Photo: Getty Images | Katelyn Mulcahy
