Antonio McKee Calls Himself The Muhammad Ali of MMA

Former heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers of all-time.  Amazing hand speed, footwork, technical boxing skills, incredible toughness, adept trash talking, and a knack for exciting fights are just some of the things he was known for.  Former MFC Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee is about to make his big time debut at UFC 125 against Jacob Volkmann.  McKee is riding a 15 fight unbeaten streak that has seen him defeat tough competitors like Carlo Prater and Marcus Aurelio.  Further, he is known for being able to hype a fight.  But considering he’s been battling in the minor leagues (no offense to MFC, they’re a good promotion) and is generally known for winning decisions in less than exciting contests, the fact that he recently compared himself to Ali seems a bit premature. 

“I feel like I’m the Muhammad Ali of MMA,” McKee recently told Sherdog.com in a very good article by Todd Martin. “I feel like I’m the Don King of MMA. I feel like I’m the Tupac Shakur of MMA. I’m the mouth, the talent, the brains, and I’m also the business side. Where does that put me? That puts me as one of the all-time greatest black mixed martial arts fighters.”

Despite the fact that he comes across as somewhat cocky and has an impossibly long way to go before anyone else besides himself is going to liken him to Ali, McKee is an interesting and worthy addition to the UFC lightweight division.  His wrestling skills and athleticism are outstanding, and when he finally did look for a stoppage against the likes of Rodrigo Ruiz and Luciano Azevedo in his most recent two encounters, he succeeded.  When you break it down, McKee is a very smart and athletic fighter that hasn’t been stopped in a bout since 2001.  He’s wanted the UFC challenge for a while now.

But perhaps most interesting, according to that Sherdog article, is his background.  McKee’s mother had drug problems, which in essence left him a little too independent a little too early.  He grew up around criminals and drugs and was a victim of molestation.  So it’s little wonder that as a teenager, he was in and out of jail.  But unlike most, he was able to take that anger he felt and put it toward something useful- wrestling.   After starting down a better path, McKee turned to business ventures and eventually MMA.

He may not deserve any comparisons to Ali right now.  But make no mistake, McKee is one heckuva fighter.  He’s a smart guy that managed to overcome more adversity as a child than most of us ever come across.  So don’t be surprised if the 40 year old makes a run in the UFC.  He’s that good.

Step one?  Let’s see how he does against a pretty good fighter in Jacob Volkmann.