A.J. McKee can’t imagine what Khabib Nurmagomedov must have gone through last year.
The unbeaten Bellator featherweight contender said he has a lot of respect for Nurmagomedov and understands why he came to his decision to hang up his gloves and put an end to his reign as UFC lightweight champion.
Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in October after his successful title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. He decided to walk away from MMA upon the request of his mother, who didn’t want him to continue fighting without his coach and father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died from COVID-19 complications over the summer.
McKee (17-0 MMA, 17-0 BMMA), also an unbeaten fighter and coached by his father (Antonio McKee), understands Nurmagomedov’s reasoning for walking away.
“I respect him for getting that last fight out of the way and I don’t know, man, he told his mother he wouldn’t fight no more,” McKee told MMA Junkie. “If I didn’t have my father, I don’t think I could do it, honestly. I could fight, but there’s going to be a lot of anger. I don’t think there’s going to be a technical A.J. I’m going to be out there swinging trying to hurt something.
“So I don’t know; that’s a tough one. That’s why I took my hat off to him. He won a lot of respect from me for that fight. And I just don’t judge a character inside the cage, but outside of the cage. That’s why I always geared towards Khabib. He’s just a great person outside and inside the cage.”
McKee punched his ticket into the current Bellator featherweight grand prix final by submitting former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell in November. The 25-year-old will take on the winner of champion Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez for the belt and $1 million in prize money sometime in 2021.
And while he and Nurmagomedov have different life paths, McKee knows what it’s like to have your father as your role model for fighting success.
“I look up to that family tradition and that legacy,” McKee said. “Having my father be my coach, it’s just fire. Our fathers put a different mindset in us. Being raised for this, we know what we’re here to do, and it’s a problem for people.”
