A.J. McKee is closing in on his desired shot at Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.
But first, McKee (22-1) has to get past Paul Hughes (12-1) at PFL: Battle of the Giants on Oct. 19 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN+).
McKee thinks him vs. Nurmagomedov (18-0) is the fight to make.
“I think it’s been the fight that everybody’s wanted to see for quite some time now,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “Obviously, myself catching staph through the tournament, something happened with him during the tournament testing wise or whatever, so he went on a little suspension. But we just continue to fight, perfect our craft.
“I can’t really look past Paul Hughes, because styles make fights and every fight is a different fight. So for me, it’s staying focused on Paul Hughes. But after that Usman fight (vs. Alexandr Shabliy), Khabib (Nurmagomedov) did walk by and he goes, ‘See you in Dubai, brother,’ and I started laughing. It was just funny, because he knows I’m watching, why I’m there.”
Prior to retaining his title against Alexandr Shabliy in September, Nurmagomedov said he sees McKee as the top contender. McKee isn’t sure why he was booked against Hughes instead of being the next title challenger, but says a fight with Nurmagomedov is inevitable.
“I have no idea – he might need a little break,” McKee said. “I think that’s the next fight regardless, though. Khabib kind of said it to me, I’ve been veering for it for a minute, and I think everybody knows that’s the fight to make.
“I think that’s the fight they’re going to make. It’s the fight that kind of makes sense to make. But obviously, I’ve got to go do my job. It’s one more man in front of me. When you look at the stats, we all know who deserves that title shot, but I’ve just got one more step to prove.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
