High-flying American fighter A.J. McKee channels Kobe Bryant as he hopes to bring greatness back to LA

• An American fighter seemingly destined for stardom is channeling the greats of sport.
• A.J. McKee competes in the greatest challenge of his career Saturday at Bellator 263.
• Should he win, he'll have topped a Bellator MMA legend in Patricio Freire.

A.J. McKee is channeling the greats of sport as he continues his trajectory to the top of mixed martial arts.

Speaking to Insider last week he wore a Los Angeles Lakers jersey, spoke of his love for Kobe Bryant, quoted Muhammad Ali, and vowed to avoid the cataclysmic downfall Conor McGregor is experiencing.

An undefeated pro MMA fighter with 17 wins at 26 years old, McKee has a magnetic charisma, the energy of youth, and a flashy, ferocious, and fan-friendly fighting style. He's got all the tools required to be a superstar.

On Saturday, he returns to the Bellator MMA cage - an arena where he's spent his entire career developing - for the conclusion of the company's featherweight Grand Prix tournament.

Win and he will take home $1 million, but to do so, he must engage the greatest fighter in Bellator history, Patricio Freire, in a war.

The fight is one of the most significant in the combat sports calendar. Freire will either reconfirm his indelible legacy, or a torch will be passed to the best of the new generation.

For McKee, that torch is already in his grasp.

"I'm younger, faster, stronger, and longer - he's got a lot to deal with," the Californian said.

"As long as I go out there and fight smart, don't get overzealous, don't get out there and do what everyone else has done and fight Patricio Pitbull - he's a counter-fighter! Make him fight," he said.

"You're the longer fighter. There's no reason why he should be countering you, you should be countering him. This is something I've got to keep in mind. Fight smart, hard, and I feel we'll come home with a flawless victory."

McKee said winning has become a constant in his life and he's determined to "go down as a great in MMA and in Los Angeles as well as nobody has put LA on the map this year, so I've got to go ahead and bring a championship home."

McKee is on a Conor McGregor-esque run to the top

McKee's start to the 16-man tournament couldn't have been more perfect. He scored an 8-second knockout win over Georgi Karakhanyan in 2019, backflipped off the cage, then yelled "I want my mother-f---ing belt."

Looking back, McKee said: "Man, the crazy thing about that knockout is, while we were out in the back, I was hitting mitts and told my dad: 'Dad, I'm going to get Bellator's fastest knockout.'

"I didn't know how, but I could just feel it. That was the goal," McKee said. "It goes to show the power of the mind. And that when you truly believe in yourself, and truly believe something is capable [you can achieve it]."

Though the fight was over moments after it had started, it was the most fun McKee has ever had in his career.

After that opening round smash-and-grab, McKee submitted Derek Campos with an armbar in the quarterfinals, before neck cranking Darrion Caldwell in the semifinal - a submission-of-the-year win.

He's returned three finishes from three wins in three tournament fights so far, but for McKee, none of that is good enough until he gets a fourth. The only way he can do that is if he finishes Freire.

"Even though Patricio Pitbull is the man - he's got to go!" he said.

McKee's visualization strategies, and the way he talks about the power of the mind, are not the only things that bear comparison to McGregor's run to the UFC featherweight championship five years ago.

McKee is the new upstart in a division that has been dominated by a Brazilian legend. It is a situation McGregor found himself in as he fought his way to a title shot against Jose Aldo.

And, just like McGregor wound up Aldo by taking his belt at a pre-fight event, Freire stormed out of the room Thursday when McKee got his hands on the Bellator championship at a fight week press conference.

Though McGregor poleaxed Aldo in 13 seconds, he didn't seem to peak until he left UFC's 145-pound division, and knocked Eddie Alvarez out at 155-pounds to add the lightweight championship to his honor roll.

In 2017, he earned approximately $100 million for a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, which he lost. His career - and life - then seemed to unravel.

McGregor never seemed far from controversy as he threw a dolly at a bus injuring UFC athletes on board, stamped on a fan's phone and walked away with it, and threw a punch at an older man at a Dublin bar. There have also been allegations of sexual assault which he has long denied.

He has started losing far more fights than he won.

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated him in a lightweight title fight in 2018 before submitting him with a neck crank.

McGregor bounced back by thumping Donald Cerrone in 2020, but suffered brutal back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier this year.

He's currently nursing a broken bone and types obscenities on Twitter, before deleting the posts.

It has seemed like McGregor's fall from the top of the sport has been as sharp as his ascent was.

For McKee, money has been the contributing factor in the fighter's decline - and he's determined not to make the same mistake.

"Man, if it's not broke, don't fix it - straight-up," said McKee. "You see the money play a big part in Conor's life where it has now changed him. He has no motivation anymore.

"He was a quitter anyway in the beginning. If you give him a way out, he'll take it - he'll tap. Me? I'm a proven mixed martial arts warrior. I'm going out on my shield. If you put me in a rear-naked choke, you best believe I'm not tapping. I'm going to sleep. That's just the way I was bred, raised, built.

"Obviously, honestly, the money changed Conor. Veneers, licking his teeth in interviews. He's not the same person! He's buying Lamborghini yachts - it's awesome! Those are fun things to have - fun toys. But you've got to stay grinding.

"The character he came up with - Mystic Mac - has also changed. He went from calling stuff out, speaking stuff into fruition, to bad-mouthing Dustin: 'You're wife's in my DMs.'

"Like, there's got to be a line where enough is enough. He hasn't found that line, and it's showing in his career."

Though McGregor made 100 times more for losing to Mayweather than what McKee could make this weekend should he top Freire, it will still be a career-high payday for the American.

He says it won't change him, and wants to pay off his dad's mortgage before he even makes a down payment on his own home.

"A million dollars is a lot of money, but don't get greedy," he said.

McKee says he's introducing his own stardom to the world

From the outside looking in, McKee is one of the most exciting fighters in all combat sports. But from the inside looking out, things aren't as clear. "I can't really tell where I'm going," he told us.

"I know I've got a bright future," McKee added. "I'm undefeated, and this would be the new beginning of a new beginning. An introduction to my stardom. Me introducing the world to who A.J. McKee is."

So, who is A.J. McKee? "I don't know! I'm slowly but surely realizing it. But I'm thinking it's to do with this number here, man," he said, gesturing to his purple LA Lakers jersey. "The number 8 - it's the infinity number.

"That's how Kobe started his career and there's a reason why we're drawn to certain things, to certain people, why we look up to people as certain role models.

"That's someone I'm looking forward to being for many kids, you know. I'm now realizing I'm the older guy in the gym and I've got younger guys looking up to me, when I was always the younger kid looking up."

Though he's inspired by Bryant's work ethic, it's not just the NBA great he admires. He quotes Muhammad Ali at will.

"I don't count the sit-ups," Ali said. "I only start counting when it starts hurting because they're the only ones that count. That's what makes you a champion."

For McKee, that's his strategy in the gym - a strategy that ensures he stays grinding, and doesn't fall into the trapfalls he thinks McGregor is going through.

"You see Kobe on the court, after practice, still shooting threes. That's why the man doesn't miss. It's repetition and becomes muscle memory.

"That's my mindset, to follow these work patterns and evolve not just himself, his team, help people do better and be better.

"He had a really big impact on a lot of people's lives out here in Los Angeles, and put the city on his back. That's the goal, the path.

"For me, no one has brought home a world title or championship to LA this year, so I feel like it's my time to shine, man, do what I do best, put LA on my back just Kobe, just like LeBron did last year, and bring home some world titles.

"That's the aim of the game."

The Freire vs. McKee fight is the main event for the Bellator 263 card that takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It will be broadcast on Showtime.