A.J. McKee explains why he dry humped Spike Carlyle mid-fight at Bellator 286

AJ McKee has offered an explanation for his decision to go full-on Israel Adesanya during his Bellator 286 fight against Spike Carlyle.

McKee and Carlyle did battle inside Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. The bout went the distance and while McKee was the clear winner, taking a unanimous decision, Carlyle received praise for his toughness and he never stopped trying to be competitive in the fight.

At some point in the bout, however, McKee displayed quite the gesture, pretending to dry hump Carlyle’s head. During the post-fight press conference, McKee discussed that moment in the fight.

“Oh, that was a dry hump, definitely,” McKee said. “Yeah, I was just having fun, man. He was strong and he reminded me of my dad a bit, wrist control, grips, and hips. So, I couldn’t get the grips off, so I thought I had to let my hips off a little bit.”

This was McKee’s first fight since losing the Bellator Featherweight Championship to Patricio “Pitbull” Freire back in April. McKee moved up to the lightweight division for the Carlyle fight. Carlyle was .6 pounds over the lightweight limit for a non-title fight.

The current Bellator Lightweight Champion is Patricio’s brother, Patricky Freire. He’s set to put his gold on the line against Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288 on November 18. Time will tell if McKee waits in the wings as the next title challenger for the winner of that bout.

With the win over Carlyle, McKee has improved his pro MMA record to 19-1. McKee is hoping that the move to 155 pounds sits well with his body long-term. He admitted that cutting down to the featherweight division was taxing on his body.