Bellator 263 and UFC Combat Evening evaluation: A.J. McKee's time has arrived

5:34 PM ET

The MMA world will characteristic elite motion from Inglewood, California, and Las Vegas on Saturday night time as Bellator and the UFC share the fight highlight.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire will tackle A.J. McKee at The Discussion board in one of many largest bouts in Bellator historical past. The combat is the finale of the promotion’s Featherweight World Grand Prix, and it options two stars who established themselves in Bellator, as a substitute of being fighters who signed as free brokers after stints in different promotions. The winner will win $1 million and be thought of by some to be the most effective featherweight on this planet, though UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski, amongst others, would argue that time.

Uriah Corridor and Sean Strickland each have 4 straight wins. Each fighters on the rise look to enter the UFC middleweight title image on Saturday.

UFC Combat Evening: Corridor vs. Strickland
Saturday, UFC Apex, Las Vegas
• Fundamental card: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+
• Prelims: 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+

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What had been a respectful lead-up to the combat received heated Thursday throughout media actions because the fighters tried to get at one another.

The Combat Evening on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas can be headlined by a pair of middleweights on four-fight win streaks as UFC No. 8-ranked Uriah Corridor takes on No. 11 Sean Strickland. The winner can be trying to climb within the rankings and doubtlessly face a top-5 opponent subsequent.

Marc Raimondi can be readily available on the Discussion board to supply outcomes and evaluation whereas Brett Okamoto will cowl the occasions unfolding on the UFC Apex. Stats equipped by ESPN Stats & Data.

Watch the UFC card on ESPN+.

UFC:

Combat in progress:

Males’s flyweight | Zarrukh Adashev (3-3, 0-2 UFC) vs. Ryan Benoit (10-7, 1-3 UFC)

Outcomes:

Welterweight | Phil Rowe (8-3, 1-1 UFC) defeats Orion Cosce (7-1, 0-1 UFC) by second-round KO

The Contemporary Prince delivers a recent end 👑 #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/ZnKpINSfMu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 31, 2021

Key stat: Rowe has finishes in all eight of his wins and has received eight of 9. Rowe cashes as a +145 underdog at Caesars William Hill. He was +550 to win by KO/TKO/DQ.

Watch this combat on ESPN+.

Nonetheless to return:

ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET

Uriah Corridor vs. Sean Strickland | Middleweight
Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula | Strawweight
Jared Gooden vs. Niklas Stolze | Welterweight

ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, left, and A.J. McKee are set to have interaction in maybe a very powerful combat in Bellator historical past. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Photos

Bellator lineup:

Combat in progress:

Bantamweight | Brian Moore vs. Jordan Winski

Nonetheless to return:

Showtime, 10 p.m. ET

YouTube pages of Bellator and Showtime, 7 p.m. ET

Vanessa Porto vs. Ilara Joanne | Flyweight
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Daniel Carey | 150-pound contract weight
Khasan Magomedsharipov vs. Jonathan Quiroz | Males’s featherweight
Johnny Cisneros vs. Joshua Jones | Welterweight
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Kiefer Crosbie | Light-weight