Back to the MMA Newsfeed

MMA Fighting’s 2020 Submission of the Year: A.J. McKee taps out Darrion Caldwell with move he created

It’s not everyday a fighter pulls off a submission they’ve created, but that’s exactly what A.J. McKee managed to do in order to punch his ticket to the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix finals.

After sitting out the majority of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, McKee was anxious to return to action when he faced off with a former NCAA champion wrestler in Darrion Caldwell. McKee was also from a wrestling background, training under his father, veteran MMA fighter Antonio McKee. But he knew Caldwell would almost assuredly attempt to drag him to the mat as soon as the fight got started.