| Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | July 31, 2021 | |||
| Venue | The Forum | |||
| City | Inglewood, California, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 31, 2021, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event marked Bellator's first outside of the Mohegan Sun bubble and the first Bellator show on the road. [1] [2] [3]
The event was headlined by the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix between the current champion Patrício Pitbull and undefeated A. J. McKee, where winner will also win $1 million prize. Pitbull is the current Bellator Lightweight and Featherweight Champion, who is currently on a seven-fight winning streak and hasn't lost since August 2016. He defeated Emmanuel Sanchez via a first-round guillotine choke in their rematch at Bellator 255. McKee is undefeated as a pro at 17-0 and is also coming off of first-round submission of his own in his last fight, defeating Darrion Caldwell with a neck crank at Bellator 253. [4] [5] [6]
A featherweight bout between Mads Burnell and Emmanuel Sanchez was scheduled as the co-main event. [7]
A lightweight bout between Manny Muro and the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov was scheduled for the event main card. [8]
A lightweight bout between Islam Mamedov and former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus was scheduled as the main card opener. [9]
Two ranked bantamweights, the #3 ranked Magomed Magomedov and #4 ranked Raufeon Stots, were scheduled to compete at the event. [10] On July 19, it was announced that the bout was scratched from the event and was rescheduled for Bellator 264. [11] [12]
A women's flyweight bout between Alejandra Lara and DeAnna Bennett was scheduled to take place at this event. [13] The bout was rescheduled for unknown reasons to take place on August 20, 2021, at Bellator 265. [14]
A lightweight bout between Georgi Karakhanyan and Kiefer Crosbie was scheduled for the event prelims. [15]
Two additional bouts were announced for the event prelims on July 6, 2021: a lightweight bout between Chris Gonzalez and Goiti Yamauchi, as well as a welterweight bout between Johnny Cisneros and Joshua Jones. [16]
A bantamweight bout between Brian Moore and Jared Scoggins was scheduled for this event. However, on July 25, it was announced Scoggins had tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jordan Winski. [17]
A 190-pound contract weight fight between Justin Barry and Daniel Compton was to take place at the event, however Barry did not receive medical clearance from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) at weigh-ins, leading to the bout being cancelled. Compton was paid his show money. [18]
| Main Card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | A. J. McKee | def. | Patrício Pitbull (c) | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 1:57 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Featherweight | Mads Burnell | def. | Emmanuel Sanchez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Usman Nurmagomedov | def. | Manny Muro | TKO (knee to the body) | 1 | 3:30 | |
| Lightweight | Islam Mamedov | def. | Brent Primus | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Goiti Yamauchi | def. | Chris Gonzalez | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:53 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Women's Flyweight | Vanessa Porto | def. | Ilara Joanne | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (150 lb) | Gadzhi Rabadanov | def. | Daniel Carey | KO (punch) | 1 | 3:57 | |
| Featherweight | Khasan Magomedsharipov | def. | Jonathan Quiroz | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:21 | |
| Catchweight (180 lb) | Joshua Jones | def. | Johnny Cisneros | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:15 | |
| Lightweight | Georgi Karakhanyan | def. | Kiefer Crosbie | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 1 | 4:25 | |
| Bantamweight | Brian Moore | def. | Jordan Winski | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. The total disclosed payout for the event was $2,094,000. [20]
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. E.T., Showtime)
PRELIMS (7 p.m. E.T., YouTube/PlutoTV)
Patrício Freire, known professionally as Patrício Pitbull, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in Bellator MMA where he is the current three-time Bellator Featherweight Champion and former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is the younger brother of lightweight fighter Patricky Pitbull. He is the second-ever simultaneous two-weight champion in Bellator MMA history, and is widely considered to be the best Bellator fighter of all-time. He is also considered one of the best ever, pound-for-pound, to have never fought in the UFC.
Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has competed for the Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Berkut, World Series of Fighting, DREAM, Tachi Palace Fights, and King of the Cage. Karakhanyan is also the former WSOF Featherweight Champion.
Pat Curran is a retired American mixed martial artist, and a former two-time Bellator Featherweight World Champion. He is the cousin of World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Jeff Curran and fought primarily with Xtreme Fighting Organization (XFO) before signing with Bellator, where he is the winner of Bellator Season Two Lightweight Tournament and the Bellator 2011 Summer Series. From July 2011 till April 2014 and January 2018 till July 2018, Curran was ranked in the top #10 Featherweights in the world by Fight Matrix, rising to as high as #2 from July 2012 till April 2013.
Patricky Freire, known professionally as Patricky Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division, where he is a former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is the older brother of featherweight fighter Patrício Pitbull.
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A. J. McKee is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight and Lightweight division, where he is the former Bellator Featherweight Champion.
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