AJ McKee: US star pulls out of Bellator lightweight fight against Patricky Freire

AJ McKee has withdrawn from his Bellator lightweight grand prix quarter-final against Patricky Freire for "medical reasons".

The American star was due to face former lightweight champion Freire on Saturday in Japan.

Roberto 'Satoshi' de Souza, Rizin's current lightweight champion, has stepped in to fight Freire.

The fight will be a 161lb catchweight but will remain part of Bellator's lightweight tournament.

Should any remaining fighters be forced to pull out injured, 28-year-old McKee could still re-enter the grand prix.

Brazilian De Souza, 33, has fought most of his MMA career in Japan after signing with Rizin in 2019 and has just two defeats in 17 fights, including to McKee in December.

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Freire, 37, also of Brazil, aims to bounce back from losing the lightweight title to Russia's Usman Nurmagomedov in November.

Bellator returns to Japan for another cross-promotional event with Rizin having hosted a fight night with the Japanese promotional outfit in December.

Several of Bellator's fighters will compete under Rizin rules and inside their ring, including Patricky's younger brother Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire.

Announced on Wednesday, Patricio Freire was a surprise addition to the event and will face Chihiro Suzuki in a 154lb bout just five weeks after losing to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 297.

Also in action in Japan is Kyoji Horiguchi, who will fight Makoto 'Shinryu' Takahashi for the inaugural Bellator flyweight championship.

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