MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the co-main event for Bellator 236.
Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’10” Age: 24 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 73.5″
- Last fight: KO win over Georgi Karakhanyan (Sept. 28, 2019)
- Camp: Team Body Shop (California)
- Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Wrestling base
+ 6 KO victories
+ 4 submission wins
+ 5 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Dynamic striking ability
^ Good shot selection
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Good wrestling ability
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Solid transitional grappler
+ Slick submission skills
Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’9″ Age: 31 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68.5″
- Last fight: Decision win over Daniel Straus (Sept. 7, 2019)
- Camp: Mohler MMA (Texas)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Fair
Supplemental info:
+ Regional MMA title
+ 6 KO victories
+ 5 submissions win
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Heavy hooks and crosses
^ Puts together punches well
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ Dirty boxing, knees, etc.
+ Solid wrestling ability
+ Serviceable transitional grappler
^ Good positional awareness
Point of interest: Slugging vs. styling
The co-main event for Bellator 236 features a fun installment of the featherweight grand prix, as a heavy-handed slugger takes on a stylish prospect on the rise.
A hard-hitting hombre, Derek Campos is no stranger to the heat of a firefight. Although he’s shown the ability to work behind a guard and counter when pressed, Campos is a come-forward, blood and guts fighter in almost every sense of the word.
The native of Lubbock, Texas is more than happy to prove his medal in the pocket by exchanging hooks, but has quietly sharpened his brand of brawling as of late. Now, it is not uncommon to see Campos shift off of his power hand coming forward, as he will also shift to southpaw for safe distancing when finishing combinations.
Campos has had plenty of experience striking with southpaws (having mixed results), so I’m curious as to how he intends on dealing with AJ McKee.
A home-grown Bellator product and one of (if not the) top prospects in MMA today, McKee has been able to keep his record unblemished since making his professional debut with the promotion. Primarily operating out of a southpaw stance, McKee makes plenty of hay with his left hand – both coming forward and off the counter.
The 24-year-old talent is also not beyond working from both sides, as he seems to readily switch his stance should the situation call for it. And when feeling in stride, McKee will attach kicks or knees to his combinations, seemingly improvising around what he sees his opposition doing.
That said, Campos is the kind of fighter who commands respect for the duration of the entire fight time, which makes me wonder how McKee will approach this challenge.
Next point of interest: Grappling entanglements
Point of interest: Grappling entanglements
Given the potential chaos on the feet, I would not be surprised to see either party attempt to take things to the floor.
Campos, though largely hallmarking his brand by slugging things out on the feet, is not beyond grounding the action when he needs to. A more-than-competent wrestler, Campos can capitalize on takedowns via corralling his opposition toward the cage, as well as shows the ability to doggedly scramble in the heat of combat.
When working from topside, Campos shows solid pressure and positional awareness, applying proper hip, head and shoulder placements while seeking opportunities to strike. Campos is also not beyond taking a submission should his foes leave something behind or unprotected, but I suspect control time may be more of a precedent in this matchup should the Texan end up in a dominant position.
McKee, who – like his father – comes from a wrestling base, does not seem worried about being taken down. Former Bellator featherweight champ, Pat Curran, was one of the only men to ground McKee (off of a well-timed takedown) but wasn’t able to get much done from his time on top.
Other than that, McKee, for the most part, seems to dictate the “when’s” and “where’s” of grappling equations. And when fighters try and shoot on him to take the initiative, McKee is quick to lock up front-choke threats, as he seems incredibly crafty from a front-headlock position.
For that reason, expect action anytime these two tangle in grappling scenarios.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public seem to be favoring the hot prospect, listing McKee -825 and Campos +510 as of this writing.
I expected Campos to come in as an underdog – but not by that much.
Campos is about as game as fighters get, and carries a big, powerful frame for 145 pounds. That said, it’s also hard to ignore Campos’ do-or-die nature, which I could see being problematic opposite McKee’s speed and versatility.
It’s hard to count out the West Texas toughness of Campos, but it’s also hard to back him in this matchup in particular. Unless Campos can catch McKee off-guard with something heavy, then I suspect that the precision of McKee’s southpaw stylings will be too much, forcing another first-round finish.
