McKee to make Belfast return after signing PFL deal

Ballymena's Rhys McKee has signed a multi-fight contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and will make his debut for the organisation on 16 April at Belfast's SSE Arena. The 30-year-old welterweight, whose record stands at 14 wins - all by stoppage - with seven defeats and one draw, was released by the UFC for the second time in his career following defeat by Axel Sola last September. McKee will make his PFL bow on the undercard of Paul Hughes v Jay Jay Wilson next month which will be his first Belfast outing since a 2022 victory over Justin Burlinson at Cage Warriors.

His opponent will be confirmed in the coming days and 'Skeletor' says he is "excited" to start a new chapter in his career "It feels good, signing for PFL is a big move for me," McKee told BBC Sport NI. "It was very important that the next step in my career was one that excited me and this has more than excited me. "The fact that it is in Belfast and I get to step out into that arena, which I thought I might not have had the opportunity to again in my career, is very important.

" McKee won 10 of his first 13 professional contests before his first move to the UFC in 2020, but lost to Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Morono which led to a Cage Warriors return. Three straight wins saw him return to the UFC and while he lost twice, a career-best performance saw him defeat Daniel Frunza for his first victory in that promotion. However, his third-round stoppage loss to Sola in Paris would see him cut from the UFC roster and while it is a new start with the PFL, his goal of becoming a world champion remains.

"I come to the PFL to bring back an exciting and violent fight style, but the ultimate goal is to capture the PFL world championship," he added. "It is well within my radar here and I'm not here for anything else other than that. " MMA schedule and results 2026 Watch every Born to Brawl episode More MMA from the BBC Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport