Adam Borics co-headlines PFL Madrid against A.J. McKee Jr. this Friday in Spain, and that could be his final run for a belt at featherweight.
At 32 years of age, Borics is considering a move to lightweight to get rid of “a more strict diet.” McKee has made that move in the past, competing at 155 pounds before going back to the division where he became champion in Bellator, but Borics doesn’t expect “The Mercenary” to be much bigger than him inside the PFL cage.
“I’m a big 45er too,” Borics told MMA Fighting. “I’m thinking already for like four years to move up to 155. I think maybe this is the last year for me at 145. It’s not easy to make me 145, but for him too.”
Borics had his chance for Bellator gold in 2022, when he lost a decision to Patricio Pitbull, and hopes to reinsert his name in the conversation for a title bout after beating Jeremy Kennedy in his most recent appearance in June 2025. Borics is now 2-1 under the PFL banner after a 9-2 career in Bellator, which includes knockouts over the likes of Aaron Pico and Pat Curran.
“I just need more time now to make featherweight, I need a strict diet for that,” Borics said. “But I’m not kind of the guy who eats shit outside of camp. I’m just growing, you know? I have more muscle now every year. I just check our fights like six years ago and I was smaller, [McKee] was smaller, but we we are growing. We became a man now, so I have to change my nickname [laughs].”
“The Kid” is now 32 years old and has 23 professional MMA fights under his belt, and believes he and McKee should already be fighting for the vacant PFL featherweight title now.
“I think it’s a big fight,” Borics said. “That’s the biggest fight that I can get in PFL and that’s what I want.”
With that unavailable, the Hungarian veteran feels confident that he’s about to earn a title shot Friday.
“I think this fight gets me for the title fight,” Borics said. “I think when I beat A.J., and the way I’m planning to beat him, I think it puts me in a really good position.”
Competing in Europe for the first time since his first year in Bellator, when he scored a pair of finishes in Budapest, Borics returns more experienced and once again training in his native Hungary daydreaming about seeing Hungarian flags being waves at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid.
Borics trained at Kill Cliff FC in Florida for a long time, but decided to build a team around him in Hungary, with Kami Barzini as head coach, after feeling “homesick”. On top of that, he also travelled around Europe for extra training, including weeks of preparation with McKee’s recent opponent Paul Hughes.
“I think I’m more professional now than ever and I’m ready for that,” Borics said. “Everything is just all about me now. I built my own camp so everything I do, I do for a purpose. Every training session has a plan, not just doing around the class, go for wrestling class and do the same things like other guys. We build the camp specific.”
“I was homesick. I missed Europe, I missed my country,” he continued. “I think I passed that age also when you had to just grind, grind, grind, grind. I learned a lot in the U.S. I’m gonna be thankful forever for my team, Kill Cliff FC, my coaches Henry Hooft and everybody. I felt like personal life, it was a good decision. Also, I wanted to change my training camp a little bit because I felt like I couldn’t reach what I wanted and I think it was a really good choice. I can tell you I’m happier now and definitely in best shape of my life.”
Read the full article here
