Antonio McKee has the belt firmly in his grasp, but for his upcoming bout at MFC 28: Supremacy, he has a different perception than that of most defending champions.
While it has become routine for most reigning champs to take the approach that they are looking forward to putting their belt on the line and proving themselves to be a worthy champion, McKee has taken a slightly altered angle to his fast-approaching defense at MFC 28.
“He’s fighting for the title. I’m fighting to stay in the game,” said McKee in offering up his initial thoughts on the showdown with Drew “Night Rider” Fickett that will go down as the co-main event on Friday, Feb. 25 at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, and live on HDNet Fights.
As far as his birth certificate goes, McKee, at the age of 40, is on the downside of his career. Yet when it comes to athleticism and the desire to compete, McKee is as sharp as he was when he rolled out eight wins in the first nine fights of a career that was launched in 1999.
The Lakewood, California, product is riding another high of late. For the first time in his career, he’s actually become a bit of a crowd favorite. True, he’s always been colorful without a doubt for his ability to hype a fight. Few in the business of mixed martial arts can sell a fight better. But popularity has never been something that McKee has been privy to.
But coming off a dynamic defense of his title, McKee has gained some measure of fan approval. And in his typically boisterous manner, McKee (25-4-2) has started to stoke the fire for his clash with Fickett (40-13), who will be riding a four-fight winning streak of his own into the encounter. Though he started with complimentary words on his opponent, McKee quickly poured gasoline on the slow-rising flames.
“I’m going to blast right through him. It’s not even going to be close … 10, 15 minutes tops,” stated McKee. “He doesn’t deal with pressure and strength real well, and my top game is really good now.”
Fight fans saw what happened the last time McKee put his top game to good use. At MFC 26, McKee’s title defense against Luciano Azevedo lasted a mere 3:11 as his sharp elbow strikes busted his Brazilian opponent wide open resulting in a TKO by doctor’s stoppage.
It was a side of McKee – unbridled, ultra-aggressive violence – that he has rarely displayed before. Though there’s a distaste that emanates from McKee when he discusses that aspect of himself and the sport, he has come to realize that the sort of vicious behavior he doesn’t care to exhibit just happens to be exactly what the fans want to see especially from a reigning champion.
McKee, who claimed the crown with a win over Derrick Noble at MFC 20, has come to terms with being more ferocious, and vowed that Fickett will get a dose of that venom come fight night.
“I’m going to start dropping elbows on him and he’s not going to know what hit him,” said McKee.
“He’s going to be on his ‘A’ game but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve seen everything he can do. There’s nothing that he can do that I won’t be ready for. He wants to come along and push me up against a wall, well, that just brings the best out of me.”
The McKee-Fickett showdown for the MFC lightweight title will share main-event status with the battle for the MFC light-heavyweight title between Dwayne “D-Bomb” Lewis and Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo. The remainder of the televised main card will include:
Lightweight – Richie Whitson vs. Kajan Johnson
Light-Heavyweight – Razak Al-Hassan vs. Rodney Wallace
Welterweight – Thomas Denny vs. Sheldon Westcott
Lightweight – Robert Washington vs. Tyrone Glover
All tickets for MFC 28: Supremacy are on sale now and available only through the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.
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