A largely respectful pre-fight press conference almost turned into a fight after two-division champ Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee’s verbal barbs quickly escalated at the Bellator 263 press conference.
Freire, who defends his featherweight title on Saturday in Los Angeles, ended the press conference early when he stormed out of the room, shouting at McKee after the undefeated challenger snatched his belt in the fracas. Security officials intervened, and Thursday’s press conference ended with a staredown between co-headliners Emmanuel Sanchez and Mads Burnell, who brought none of the bad blood into the gathering.