Scouting Report: A.J. McKee

A.J. McKee

Born: April 7, 1995 (Age: 27) in Long Beach, California
Division: Lightweight
Height: 5’10”
Reach: 74”
Record: 19-1
Association: Team Bodyshop
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: McKee ranks as one of the most disgustingly talented fighter in MMA history. Think lightweight version of Jon Jones. McKee excels at every single aspect of fighting, ranging from efficient to phenomenal. His striking includes tremendous hand speed, one of the best left crosses in the sport and a stellar series of kicks, especially his outstanding side kick to the body and head kick. In terms of grappling, he excels at wrestling and has proven himself as one of the best submission artist around despite not having a background there before entering MMA. McKee also has exceptional cardio and off-the-charts fight IQ. Consider what it took for McKee to finally lose a fight, albeit by razor-thin decision: an all-time great in Patricio Freire walking a tightrope for 25 minutes and the “Mercenary” being off his game. He has the chance to go down as one of the true legends of his generation.

STRIKING

• Stance: Southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Far above average.
• Jab: Fast, sudden, hard, straight and long.
• Cross: A straight, sudden and blindingly fast shot with knockout power, as evidenced by his finishes against John Teixeira and Georgi Karakhanyan.
• Right Hook: Thrown with tight, textbook arc and considerable rotation, but he winds it up too much, which results in it being telegraphed and less accurate.
• Overhand Left: Does not throw it.
• Uppercuts: Technically solid but sometimes erratic.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Can do both depending on the situation, which makes him unpredictable and difficult to defend.
• Favorite Combination(s): Loves the one-two, which is exceptional.
• Leg Kicks: Fast, sudden and hard.
• Body Kicks: Features an outstanding side kick to the body that is ridiculously accurate and powerful. He often hurts opponents with the kick and forces them several feet back from the impact.
• Head Kicks: Fast, sudden and tremendously powerful, with excellent flexibility. McKee knocked out Dominic Mazzotta with it and badly hurt Freire in their first fight, setting up the finish.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Few can stand with McKee for long, thanks to his lethal left cross and his devastating head kick. These weapons do more than just cause damage; they knock out opponents cold. Even if they avoid those, he has a potent jab and outstanding side kick to the body he can hammer them with again and again, easily winning rounds on scorecards. Due to his outstanding footwork and sense of distance, McKee has proven to be incredibly difficult to hit himself. He can improve further—a frightening thought for his contemporaries—if he continues to develop his right hook and uppercuts.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Despite his slender frame, he can outmuscle large and muscular opponents, even at lightweight, as he showed against Spike Carlyle.
• Technique: Flawless.
• Knees: Punishing, and they are helped by his long frame.
• Elbows: Rarely throws them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Difficult to hit with either of them.

McKee is exceptionally tough to deal with in the clinch, where he can punish opponents with knees or take them down as the situation requires.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Shoots a nice double-leg, but he can be neutralized by a solid grappler.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Excels at changing levels and catching opponents off-guard.
• Takedown Defense: It takes a standout wrestler or someone proficient at scrambles to put McKee on his back. However, he appears to be improving in this area.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Surprisingly average, as he is not quite quick enough with his hip escapes.
• Submissions: Hard to think of a better submission artist with no background in a submission fighting style prior to getting into MMA. McKee executed Sherdog’s “Submission of the Year” in 2020 against Darrion Caldwell, put away Freire with a guillotine in their first meeting and wields a lethal brabo choke.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Offers some brutal elbows from his back and butt scoots high enough to land them consistently. McKee is also a major submission threat off of his back, and he is almost impossible to ground-and-pound effectively.
• Top Control: Manages the hips and wrists quite well. However, he can be lured into going for submissions, leading to scrambles in which the opponent gets back up or sweeps. • Ground-and-Pound: Fires hard punches from both hands and utilizes his body well, throwing shots at an above-average rate of fire, along with the occasional thudding elbow.

In theory, McKee can be taken down by an outstanding wrestler and kept there, given that he is only decent at getting up. In practice, that does not happen. Why? Because he is so ridiculously dangerous in bottom position, from cutting elbows to fantastic submissions, as Carlyle and Caldwell found out. Against lesser grapplers, McKee often scores takedowns and finishes by submission or brutal, punishing ground-and-pound. He also has a tight guillotine choke at his disposal.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Exceptional in both areas.
• Cardio: Looks fantastic in 15-minute affairs—he has third-round finishes on his resume—and even in high-paced, physical fights. McKee has also shown the ability to go 25 minutes when necessary.
• Chin: He has been hit with some solid shots but never hurt.
• Recuperative Powers: McKee has recovered immediately from any flush connections.
• Intelligence: Remarkable, given how well he has developed his skills and uses them effectively in the heat of battle, whereas others in his position—like former teammate Aaron Pico—may suffer from an overabundance of choice. McKee was outsmarted by Freire in their rematch, but given the Brazilian’s extraordinary IQ, it warrants only minor criticism.