Antonio McKee

Antonio De Carlo McKee (born March 12, 1970) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division and is the former Maximum Fighting Championship Lightweight Champion. He has also competed in the UFC, the Tokyo Sabres in the IFL, Dream, K-1 Hero's, King of the Cage, World Fighting Alliance, World Series of Fighting and is currently signed to Bellator MMA.

On September 15, 2010, MMAJunkie reported that McKee had signed a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On October 2, 2010, it was announced that McKee would make his debut at UFC 125 against Jacob Volkmann. Regarding the bout, McKee said that Volkmann did not have the drive to be a UFC fighter, and after his loss, should seek a different career path. McKee would suffer his first loss in nearly eight years after losing the fight via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29). After the loss, he was cut from the UFC roster in what has since been described as a "loser leaves town" match

He was to face Shinya Aoki on May 29, 2011 in Japan for Dream but withdrew from the match. Leading up to the fight, Mckee felt that he had already won mentally. The pair eventually fought on at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012 and McKee lost via submission in the second round, immediately tapping after a punch from the grappling expert.

McKee was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and lived in Nashville, Tennessee, Dayton, Ohio, and South Central Los Angeles as his mother was a traveling entertainer. McKee did not know who his father was and McKee himself had a troubled upbringing as he was a victim of molestation, was homeless, and was in and out of jail, before he found wrestling at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. McKee excelled at the sport, becoming a two-time state champion in the 138–142 pounds division from 1987–1988 despite being academically ineligible for most of the 1988 season, competing in only 16 matches. He went on to be a two-time state champion for Cerritos College as well as a two-time CCCAA All-American in his two seasons from 1988–1989 in the 142 pounds weight class and held a 61-0 record from 1988–1989. McKee has also opened a gym and a security company and coaches the varsity team for no charge at his alma mater high school. McKee was also the founder of the Local Lucha Libre Wrestling (LLLW) in his hometown. During his long wrestling career, he competed with the likes of Heath Sims, Dan Henderson, and John Smith.

On September 28, 2019, McKee returned to the cage for the first time in five years when he defeated William Sriyapai at Bellator 228. The 49-year old made American history by competing on the same card as son A.J. McKee.