Bellator’s A.J. McKee on feud with James Gallagher: ‘Once you cross the line you gotta get your ass whooped’

The simmering feud between Bellator’s undefeated featherweight prospects A.J. McKee (8-0) and James Gallagher (6-0) continues to make headlines throughout the world of MMA.

On Monday evening, Gallagher appeared on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani where he took aim at McKee and called him out on the show.

Fresh from his first-round head kick knockout of Dominic Mazzotta at Bellator 178, McKee appeared on the Obviously Fight Talk podcast on Tuesday where he addressed his beef with Gallagher and opened-up on his future plans.

The 22-year-old explained that a potential fight with Gallagher did not benefit him as he looked towards title contention but he did believe that it would give the fans what they want.

“I don’t feel like I gained anything from beefing him. Just to show that I am the hottest prospect but honestly in my eyes I don’t even feel like a prospect, I feel like a contender. I feel like I’ve already stepped past that. It’s the level of disrespect where that lines been crossed. Once you cross that line you gotta get your ass whooped,” he said.

Both fighters seem to have a different story to tell. The reasoning behind their beef comes down to an altercation between the two before McKee’s teammate Anthony Taylor fought Gallagher at Bellator 169 in Dublin last year.

It was claimed that McKee had offered to give Taylor’s game plan and tactics to Gallagher before their fight. Something which the California native strongly denied.

“That’s some more bullshit. It was me, Anthony was in the room, and my other teammate Red. We’d just came back from a pub and we were walking in, and literally our rooms were across from each other. So, yeah, we were in the room and we were talking about [Conor] McGregor. But, the bullshit with Anthony, I don’t know where that came from.”

When Gallagher defeated Kirill Medvedovsky at Bellator 173 in February he directed his post-fight interview at Mckee calling him a ‘pussy’ live on air.

“When he had his little beef with Anthony [Taylor] at his gym. He walked up to me and he was like, ‘Your next pussy’. I told him that he was going to regret those words. There was no real beef there yet and then next thing he’s calling me a pussy on national television. That’s when he put fuel to the fire. That’s when I went all in.”

He continued, “I feel the true MMA fans want to see him lose because they feel he’s trying to copy McGregor, which I feel he does a lot too. But, at the end of the day you have to be your own person. It is what it is, you know. I’m ready to fight whenever and he said that he wanted to fight me. He called me a pussy on national television yet he goes and signs a contract to fight someone else. Then, I go and get a knockout and he says he doesn’t want to fight me, he wants to fight Pitbull. I’m like, OK.”

“The Mercenary” later admitted that he felt like he was picking on his little brother.

“I’m such a friendly guy. I sit there and laugh. He gets mad and lets me get under his skin but I feel like I’m picking on my little brother. He just gets so upset and love to do it. It’s comedy to me.”

His highlight reel knockout of Mazzotta was shared across social media and helped to raise his profile even further. Now, McKee is setting his sights on the featherweight belt and is already eyeing up a potential fight with new champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (26-4).

“He’s got that gold belt around his waist so that’s who I want. I’m always shooting for that belt, that’s the overall achievement. It’s the goal that everybody wants so why would I want to fight anyone besides the person with that belt.

“By the end of this year I want to be top three, getting ready to make that title run. I’ve got until next April. Jon Jones was the youngest champ ever at 23. I’m 22 so I got until April before I turn 23. I’ve a little over eight months to get that title around my waist.”

The young prospect also claimed to be very happy at Bellator. He explained that he was not looking at any other options and saw his future with the promotion.

Watch the full interview here: