A. J. McKee moved up to lightweight for the first time after losing his first bout in his career in a title defense against Patrício Pitbull at Bellator 277 in April. In the opposite corner, he faced Spike Carlyle, who has won five straight bouts since parting ways with the UFC in 2020, and was coming off two technical submission wins under Bellator contract, against Dan Moret in December at Bellator 272 and Koji Takeda in April at Rizin 35.[3]
At weigh ins, the bout between Juan Archuleta and Enrique Barzola was moved to a catchweight of 141 pounds; while two fighters missed weight; Spike Carlyle, was .6 pounds over the division non-title fight limit at 156.6 lbs, and Dominic Clark, who came in at 2.2 pounds over the limit at 158.2 lbs for his lightweight bout. Carlyle and Clark were fined 20% of their purses and the bouts continued at catchweights.[5][6]
A Lightweight bout between Mike Hamel and Max Rohskopf was planned for the event; however it was scrapped the day of the event as Rohskopf was not cleared by doctors.[7]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings.[9][10]
Patrício Pitbull: $150,000 (no win bonus) vs. Ádám Borics: $100,000
A.J. McKee: $105,000 (no win bonus, $5,000 fine from Carlyle) def. Spike Carlyle: $40,000 (includes $10,000 deduction)