PFL v Bellator: AJ McKee says beating Clay Collard will kickstart his 'Kobe year'

For AJ McKee, 2024 holds special significance. He is making it his "Kobe Year".

The American has decided to do this in honour of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who wore the number 24 jersey for the latter half of his iconic stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Former Bellator featherweight champion McKee, 28, is taking inspiration from Bryant, widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time, as he enters a new chapter in his career.

McKee has spent his entire 22-fight career with Bellator but is now set to fight under new ownership for the first time after the promotion was acquired by the PFL in November - and wants a little of Bryant's magic to rub off on him.

On Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, McKee will face American lightweight Clay Collard in the PFL v Bellator champions event.

"It is a little chip on the Bellator fighters shoulders. We can't come in stomping our feet around. It's really coming in respectfully and letting our arts and crafts do the talking for us," said McKee.

"It's like any king and any kingdom. Once you have your land you've conquered, you look to go and conquer new lands and battle on new lands, so for me it's showing him: I'm here to take over your land.

"It's 2024, the year of Kobe for me. Rest in peace. This is me giving it my all this entire year."

The event features two champion versus champion bouts with the PFL's Impa Kasanganay facing Bellator's Johnny Eblen at middleweight, and a heavyweight clash between the PFL's Renan Ferreira and Bellator's Ryan Bader.

Other fights include multi-weight boxing champion Claressa Shields taking on Kelsey DeSantis - the first professional women's MMA bout in Saudi Arabia, according to the PFL - and Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, making his professional MMA debut against Emmanuel Palacio.

The fight night is the first under joint PFL-Bellator branding and continues Saudi Arabia's investment in sport, although the country has long been criticised for using sport to deflect conversation away from its poor human rights record.

'Bellator is my home'

McKee finished 13 of his 21 wins in Bellator

McKee, nicknamed 'The Mercenary', won a record 21 Bellator fights after making his debut in 2015, with his sole defeat coming against Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire in 2022, when he lost the featherweight title.

McKee's performances and loyalty to Bellator made him the face of the promotion and one of its most marketable assets.

"Bellator is my home. It's where I started. It's where The Mercenary was born," said McKee.

"He wasn't a contract killer at first; he was just a young guy trying to fight everybody and beat everybody up. Now I can say I've established the full arsenal.

"Bellator stuck by my side from the jump, watched me and kind of groomed me into becoming the athlete I am today. I have nothing but love for Bellator."

McKee fought the entirety of his Bellator career at featherweight until defeat by Freire, when he moved up to lightweight and embarked on a three-fight win streak.

The PFL's deal to acquire Bellator leaves McKee's career at a fork in the road - he can continue under the Bellator branding, where matchmakers set up fights in the traditional manner, or he can switch to the PFL's seasonal league format.

McKee says he is "uncertain" of the direction he will take after fighting Collard, but has a number of options.

"This is my opportunity and I can kind of do whatever I want now, it's just a matter of 'what do you want to do AJ?'" said McKee.

"If it's at 155lb [lightweight], I wouldn't mind doing a PFL tournament.

"If it's at 145lb [featherweight], I wouldn't mind doing one off big fights, and then also going for that 145lb title, whether it's Bellator or PFL. I've always said I'm the best 145lb pounder in the world."

Whatever McKee decides to do, while drawing on inspiration from Bryant, becoming a champion once again is his priority.

"I wouldn't say my long-term goals have changed much. Predominantly it's just getting that belt wrapped around my waist again - I've missed being champion," said McKee.

"That's been my dream since I was a kid. I've worked day in day out for to be a champion and be notified as the best in the world."