It didn’t take long for Bellator MMA to make its mark at the historic PFL vs. Bellator event earlier today (Sat., Feb. 24, 2024) live on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN PPV from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as A.J. McKee stopped PFL lightweight standout Clay Collard with a first-round submission (armbar).
McKee’s matchup with Collard helped spark a monumental PPV main card that pitted the best champions and fighters from PFL against the very best from Bellator MMA. This is all owed to their blockbuster merger late last year. Saturday’s show in Saudi Arabia was the first event to be hosted under the new PFL-Bellator banner.
If Bellator wanted to start this event off with a bang they picked the right fighter to do it. McKee is a former Bellator MMA featherweight champion who holds wins over the likes of Patricio Pitbull, Darrion Caldwell, Derek Campos, and Sidney Outlaw. Needless to say, McKee was expected to shine in his PFL debut and Collard was just the type of fighter to play spoiler.
Unfortunately for Collard, McKee needed just over one minute to slap on a tight armbar attempt and force “Cassius” to fight on the defensive. McKee adjusted for a better angle and eventually got the easy submission win. It was quite the performance and a tremendous way to spark the historic PFL vs. Bellator PPV card.
Check out the finish in the above video player.
For complete PFL vs. Bellator MMA results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
