Antonio McKee’s Bodyshop gym has always been something of a refuge for wayward fighters. Whether they’d hit a slump, fallen out with previous training partners, or needed help finding the right mix of partners to elevate their work, McKee offered an oasis.

Housed in an unassuming strip mall in Lakewood, Calif., Bodyshop isn’t as well known as other gyms stuffed to the gills with MMA stars. McKee is a consummate self-promoter, but he’s overstretched trying to make it all work. He’s also trying to make a comeback.

McKee, 48, admits he’s attracted to rehab projects as much as new ones. His gym currently houses a bevy of future Bellator stars, including Aaron Pico, Kevin Ferguson Jr., and his son, A.J. McKee. But he’s also taken in stars like Quinton Jackson and Bob Sapp to try and turn them around. Fans rarely hear about these resets.

If given the chance, the elder McKee would take in Jon Jones any day over UFC dual champion Daniel Cormier.

“I don’t want the college, clean-cut guy who thinks he’s better than everybody else,” McKee recently told MMAjunkie Radio.

The 48-year-old veteran is open about his own struggles trying to make it as a professional MMA fighter after his career in wrestling. He said he was a debt collector for drug dealers and fought on the streets before finding his financial footing. When he started training seriously, he alienated training partners with his attitude. It took a lot of trial and error to find a system that works reasonably well.

That’s why McKee (29-6) isn’t upset that his son has a tendency to veer off the right path. A.J. McKee (11-0 MMA, 11-0 BMMA), who next faces ex-champ Pat Curran (23-7 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) at Bellator 205, said he used to street fight before wrestling practices, banging up his body for free before real competitions.

Even today, the family members argue over how seriously they take the sport. A.J. is undefeated, but as recently as two weeks ago, he admitted he was bored in his previous fight against Justin Lawrence. To lose, he figures someone will have to kill him.

The way the elder McKee sees things, his role is more than just one of a father and stern disciplinarian, and he tries to impart that to everyone in his life.

“Where are the black mentors for us?” Antonio asked. “Where are the people to stand up for who we are? It’s different for us than every other race. I don’t care how people try to switch, shift, push it – they’re full of (expletive). To be a black male in America is different. So you need somebody that understands that, not in prison trying to tell you.

“You need somebody that’s doing what you do, telling you how to do it. It’s not my fault my daddy was an alcoholic; it’s not my fault I didn’t have a dad. So that’s what I became. I became what I didn’t have – a mentor, a father, a spiritual advisor, a leader, a friend, a brother.

“That’s all I needed. I had it, but I didn’t understand it.”

After more than a decade in the fight game, that’s not the case anymore. McKee is trying to build the next generation of stars – and rebuild the previous one. It’s a cause he believes is sorely missing from the sport.

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