Antonio McKee Suffers Injury, Withdraws From MFC 28 Title Bout

Press Release – Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight title-holder Antonio McKee will be unable to defend his title at MFC 28: Supremacy due to a knee injury. Drew Fickett, McKee’s scheduled opponent for the co-main event, will maintain his spot on the card in a showdown against replacement Matt Veach (15-2). The Fickett-Veach encounter will be a three-round bout contested at a catchweight of 160 pounds.
“I’m disappointed not to be facing McKee for the title but it’s only a matter of time until I get my hands on the MFC lightweight belt,” said Fickett.
“It’s truly a sign of what some fighters are made out of,” added MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich. “Drew Fickett didn’t hesitate one bit to accept the change in opponent, and Matt Veach showed the amount of courage he’s got in taking the fight with Fickett on short notice.”
Veach, who will be fighting on the same event as his H.I.T. Squad teammate Robert Washington, has won four straight fights and holds seven career victories via submission. This will be a return to the Maximum Fighting Championship for the 29-year-old who previously captured a decision win over Matt MacGrath at MFC 16 in May 2008.
Among his other notable victories, Veach, a former junior college All-American wrestler, earned a decision verdict over British knockout artist Kenneth Rosfort-Nees along with a first-round knockout of Matt Grice. Veach’s career was launched with a perfect run of 11 consecutive wins.
The only two setbacks in the career of the five-foot-seven native of Granite City, Illinois, came against top-ranked competitors Frankie Edgar and Paul Kelly.