Spoiler Alert! Find Out What Happened At Bellator 187: AJ Mckee Jr vs Brian Moore
Bellator MMA returned to the Dublin, Ireland for the second time in their history as AJ McKee Jr. took on SBG Ireland’s Brian Moore in the main event of Bellator 187.
McKee Jr.’s feud with James Gallagher provided the perfect backdrop to this evening’s main event as his teammate Moore attempted to hand the American the first loss of his career. The American walked into a highly hostile atmosphere in the 3Arena, but he looked in his element as he soaked up the boos as he made the walk to the cage.
To contrary, Moore was given a hero’s welcome and he lapped up the cheers and chants of “Ole, ole, ole, ole” as he stepped into the Bellator cage for the third time in his career.
The fight started at an extremely fast pace as both men looked to put the pressure on early. McKee landed with a crisp left hand and stiff kick to the midsection, but Moore didn’t take a step back and landed his own left hand to peg McKee back. McKee responded with a nice kick to the midsection, but the Irishman clinched him up and put his back to the cage.
The American eventually ended up taking the fight to the mat, but Moore quickly rose to his feet and landed a series of big left hands to drop McKee with 75-seconds left in the round. McKee recovered well and quickly got back to his feet where he clinched Moore against the fence and attempted to take him down. Moore did well to stay upright though and the round ended with the Irishman walking back to his stool looking full of confidence and a swagger in his step.
Round two began with Moore walking McKee down and showing little respect for the shots coming back at him. McKee was bleeding from just above his right eye as Moore continued to walk forward and look to land big shots. The American tried to respond with leg kicks and probing jabs, but Moore kept the pressure coming and continued to put the pressure on. McKee landed a stiff left with two minutes left in the round, but Moore took it well and pushed McKee against the fence where he looked to take him down. McKee stuffed the takedown and landed an elbow at close quarters. The two then broke away and traded big shots with 60-seconds left. Moore landed big to the body and McKee’s legs looked to turn to jelly. Moore then landed another big shot before the end of the round to get the crowd on their feet roaring.
The final round began with McKee landing a huge left hand down the middle and dropping Moore to the mat. From there the American worked expertly to his back and sunk in a rear-naked choke. Moore did his best to turn belly and escape, but with the choke sank in he could do nothing by tap out. A titanic back and forth war ended with McKee submitting Moore in the third round. It was an incredible effort from the Irishman, but it was Mckee who got his hand raised.
After the bout, McKee made a point of walking over to James Gallagher who was sat cageside. McKee made a belt gesture at Gallagher before giving him a ‘DX suck it’ crotch chop and walking off.
Full Bellator 187 Results:
AJ McKee Jr. def. Brian Moore via submission (RNC), Round 3
Sinead Kavanagh def. Maria Casanova via TKO (strikes), Round 1
Charlie Ward def. John Redmond via TKO (strikes), Round 1
Kevin Ferguson Jr. def. Fred Freeman via submission (RNC), Round 1
Paul Redmond def. Sergio de Jesus Santos via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
