McKee Jr. vs Souza

Who won McKee Jr. vs Souza?

AJ McKee Jr beat Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main event of Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN, on Saturday 31st December 2022 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner AJ McKee Jr.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 155 pounds (11.1 stone or 70.3 KG).

McKee Jr. vs Souza stats

AJ McKee Jr stepped into the octagon with a record of 19 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 7 by submission.

Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza made his way to the cage with a record of 14 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by knock out and 10 by submission.

AJ McKee Jr's Bellator record stood at 22-1-0, while Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza's came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested McKee Jr had a slight advantage in power over Souza, with a 32% knock out percentage over Souza's 29%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Souza had a massive advantage over McKee Jr, boasting a 71% submission rate over McKee Jr's 37%.

AJ McKee Jr was the younger man by 5 years, at 29 years old.

Souza had a height advantage of 1 inch over McKee Jr.

McKee Jr was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 5 more fights, and made his debut in 2015, 9 years later than Souza, whose first professional fight was in . He had fought 21 more professional rounds, 48 to Souza's 27.

McKee Jr. vs Souza form

AJ McKee Jr had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286 on 1st October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Featherweight championship fight at SAP Center, San Jose.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 263 on 31st July 2021 by submission in the 1st round in their Bellator Featherweight championship fight at The Forum, Inglewood.

Before that, he had defeated Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 253 on 19th November 2020 by submission in the 1st round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He was victorious against Derek Campos at Bellator 236 on 21st December 2019 by submission in the 3rd round at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu.

Souza had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1opponent and going the distance 4 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Johnny Case at RIZIN 35 on 17th April 2022 by submission in the 1st round in their Rizin Lightweight championship fight at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Chofu, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beaten Yusuke Yachi at RIZIN 33 on 30th December 2021 by submission in the 2nd round in their Rizin Lightweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Tofiq Musayev at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by submission in the 1st round in their Rizin Lightweight championship fight at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Before that, he was victorious against Kazuki Tokudome at RIZIN 27 on 21st March 2021 by submission in the 1st round at Nippongaishi Hall(日本ガイシホール), Nagoya.

He had won against Yusuke Yachi at RIZIN 22 on 9th August 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Pia Arena MM, Yokohama.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza had been fighting more than AJ McKee Jr.

Going to this contest, AJ McKee Jr had last fought 1 year, 7 months and 5 days ago, while Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza's last outing had been 2 years and 19 days ago.

McKee Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 4 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Souza's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on McKee Jr. vs Souza?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for McKee Jr. vs Souza.