WATCH: AJ McKee leaves opponent with bloody face after BRUTAL shots from back at Bellator 301

A.J. McKee faced Sidney Outlaw in Bellator 301. He left Outlaw bloodied to get the unanimous decision win.

WATCH: AJ McKee leaves opponent with bloody face after BRUTAL shots from back at Bellator 301

AJ McKee bloodied Sidney Outlaw to get the decision win (via X)

Bellator lightweights A.J. McKee and Sidney Outlaw faced each other in the featured bout of Bellator 301. This served as an official Lightweight Grand Prix alternate bout. In the fight, Outlaw put McKee on his back on every round, stacking up his control time. However, McKee rained down elbow after elbow on his back to bloody Outlaw. By this, he gained an advantage in the damage department.

With the classic debate on Control time vs. Damage in MMA, many were unclear about the decision. However, A.J. McKee won the fight via a unanimous decision. As such, the scorecards read 30-27 in favor of McKee, resulting in a clean sweep. Unofficially, Outlaw gained a control time of about 11 minutes, while McKee just got 2 minutes. But on strikes landed, ‘McKee Mercenary’ had a massive lead of 71-28 (per Yahoo Sports). As such, the judges favored damage over control time.

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Both A.J. McKee and Sidney Outlaw were enrolled in the lightweight grand prix tournament earlier. They were supposed to face Patricky Pitbull and Mansour Barnaoui, respectively, in the opening round of the tournament. But, McKee had to pull out due to a staph infection, and Outlaw failed a drug test, which eliminated him from the tournament.

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However, they got into this fight as a result of Usman Nurmagomedov being eliminated from the tournament’s final. He tested positive for a banned substance, which forced him out of the tournament. This led AJ McKee and Sidney Outlaw to face each other to make their case for a final spot. As such, McKee has earned it. But, the finale is yet to be decided as Nurmagomedov has left the tournament in jeopardy.

Fans react to AJ McKee causing bloody damage on Sidney Outlaw

AJ McKee outstruck Sidney Outlaw to win the decision in Bellator 301 despite the latter gaining a huge lead in control time. Outlaw took McKee down round after round, landing in McKee’s guard. However, ‘Mercenary’ fought off his back and threw elbows and punches, which created severe damage to Outlaw, leaving him bloodied.

AJ McKee vs Sidney Outlaw in Bellator 301
AJ McKee vs Sidney Outlaw in Bellator 301 (via X)

This resulted in all three judges scoring the contest 30-27 to A.J. McKee. However, this decision was up for argument based on the winning criteria in MMA. Which should prevail-Damage or Control time? Anyway, MMA fans reacted to the ruthless fight between McKee and Sidney Outlaw. Here are some exciting reactions:

https://twitter.com/Trip2MyLu/status/1725718413102735633

By this win, A.J. McKee has extended his win streak to three. Also, he could possibly enter the ongoing lightweight Grand Prix tournament as a wild card. On the other hand, Sidney Outlaw had to reconsider his fighting strategy as he had lost this bout despite gaining a clear advantage in control time.

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