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.

This was AJ McKee Jr's 23rd fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2015. Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza marked his 2nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2022.

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 6 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 and 11 months later than Souza, whose first professional fight was in . He had fought 22 more professional rounds, 51 to Souza's 29.

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 Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by submission in the 1st round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had beaten Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 301 on 17th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Before that, he was victorious 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.

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.

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, AJ McKee Jr had been fighting more than Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza.

Going to this contest, AJ McKee Jr had last fought 1 year, 1 month and 6 days ago, while Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza's last outing had been 2 years, 11 months and 13 days ago.

McKee Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Souza's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 7 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 4 days. 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.