A.J. McKee reveals staph infection in knee forced him out of Bellator X Rizin 2

A staph infection has forced A.J. McKee out of Bellator X Rizin 2.

McKee was set to take on Patricky Freire in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal bout on Saturday, but the former featherweight champion says staff infection in his knee is what caused him to withdraw. A Bellator official told MMA Junkie that McKee will be an alternate in the tournament moving forward.

McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA) took to Twitter to release a statement, sharing some graphic images of his knee.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be fighting this weekend in Japan,” McKee said. “To all my Japanese fans, I’ll see you guys soon. And guess what? We will be back in Japan, I promise you that. So I’ll see you guys soon. I appreciate all the support. I ended up catching staph, guys. You know staph, it’s a really bad infection – flesh-eating. It’ll literally put you in the hospital. I had to go to the ER. I’ve been on antibiotics and it’s healing up well, but make sure you take a look, and I’ll show you the process of what I’ve been dealing with. (I have) a couple little holes in my knee, but we’re going to come back stronger and better than ever. Y’all already know what it is: champ sh*t only.”

Just to clear the air The progression of this infection in 1 week smh.. A few more weeks of rest/healing and it’s back to the grind. pic.twitter.com/mYmznV1Puw

— AJ “The Mercenary” McKee (@ajmckee101) July 27, 2023

Stepping in to face Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on short notice is RIZIN lightweight champion Roberto de Souza (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in what will be the new main event.

Bellator X Rizin 2 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. The co-headliner will crown an inaugural Bellator flyweight champion when Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Makoto Shinryu.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.