Bellator 286: Spike Carlyle believes ‘God ordained’ AJ McKee matchup
By Brian Cook
Spike Carlyle vs. AJ McKee a result of divine intervention, if you ask Carlyle.
Spike Carlyle fights frantic at times, keeping his opponents on their toes to be sure; this was also the case when he spoke Thursday with Amy Kaplan of FanSided MMA ahead of his Bellator 286 battle with AJ McKee.
“God ordained something else, and now I have one of the biggest names in Bellator I’m fighting,” Carlyle said when asked how this matchup came to be. Carlyle explained that he had initially turned down a fight with Jay Jay Wilson, who is fighting on the preliminary card.
Carlyle won’t fight his friends, not even for a title.
Asked if he had a firm rule of not fighting friends, Carlyle said, “We pour into each other, we teach each other; I just don’t think it’s right to have to compete against someone you know so well; that’s not cool.”
What about if a title was on the line? Carlyle stood firm, “I don’t think so; one of my closest friends Beneil Dariush who’s highly ranked in the UFC; I would never want to hurt that guy; I love him.”
“Either they think I’m a good tune-up fight for AJ, or they think I’m a real contender,” Carlyle said when asked if he felt like this matchup shows how much Bellator thinks of him as a fighter. That’s a fair assessment from a guy who turned down a fight that would have landed him on the preliminary card.
Carlyle (+360) is a reasonably substantial betting underdog, a point not lost on Carlyle, “Apparently, all the oddsmakers think I’m about to get ran through.”
“The Alpha Ginger” Carlyle enters his fight with McKee on a five-fight win streak, all inside the distance. Saturday is Mckee’s first fight up at lightweight; we may have a live dog in this spot.
Next. Bellator 286: Aaron Pico is the fighter to watch. dark