Former UFC welterweight Rhys McKee made a successful debut under the PFL banner on Thursday night, earning a unanimous decision victory over Alex Lohore in the co-main event at PFL Belfast.
Fighting on home soil for the first time in three years, McKee (15-7-1 MMA, 1-5 UFC) overcame a measured start to outpoint Lohore across three rounds. Facing an awkward and durable opponent, McKee acknowledged that it took him some time to settle into the fight before finding his rhythm.
“Yeah, you know, I wish I’d pushed it a wee bit more,” McKee told Fighters Only after the bout. “Like, to be honest I was probably caught a wee bit off guard in this card. I probably could have been a bit more ready. So I just had to play it at a pace that I was comfortable with.
“I definitely should have done more work, more defensive work, attacking or moving faster up against the fence and stuff. I played it to get the win tonight. Alex was a guy I was always much more skilled on, but he was equally as tough, so I needed to respect him, but in hindsight I definitely would have liked to have pushed a bit more.”
The fight came together on extremely short notice, with McKee signing with the PFL just weeks before the event and accepting the matchup against Lohore with even less time to prepare. Despite having a limited window to study his opponent, McKee embraced the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd.
“It is if you want to make it tricky, you know, you're either about it or you're not,” he said. “When PFL asks you to fight in Belfast, in your home city, if you say no, what would you be about? I said it in the cage and I mean it: PFL have been so good to me, they've financially rewarded me more than my whole career in one single night. How much more could that not mean? How could you have said no?
“I'm just being real…for the fighters there's different options out there. You know, get respected as a fighter, have these promotions that you mean something to. I see the PFL like that.”
McKee entered the bout following his release from the UFC earlier this year, where he went 1-3 during his second stint with the promotion. The victory in Belfast marked a strong start to his new chapter and a return to winning ways in front of a hometown audience.
Beyond the result, the timing of the opportunity added to what McKee described as an already life-changing week.
“I'm in dreamland,” he said. “I have a baby boy arriving next week. I've just had the best five days of my life. This was day one, believe it or not. I'm going to have a hell of a week. A hell of a week. What a life.”
