CLEVELAND – Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee has no intention of waiting around for Patricio Freire to be ready for a rematch.

If Freire (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) isn’t willing or able to run it back before the end of the year, McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) is happy to move on and defend his belt against the next available contender.

The promotion recently dubbed a Bellator 265 matchup between Adam Borics and Jay Jay Wilson as a No. 1 contender fight at 145 pounds. However, the bout never materialized because Wilson missed weight by four pounds, and it was called off. Does that make Borics (17-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) the next man by default? McKee said he would be happy to fight him if that’s what the promotion wants.

“His name’s on that (grand prix) belt. He can get his ass whooped too if he wants it,” McKee told MMA Junkie. “At the end of the day, I don’t care. I’m the man now, which is kind of weird. I’m the A-side on all these fights. Anybody can come get it. I’ll kick asses to say I did it. That’s the old McKee remedy.”

McKee said he’s been a constant presence in the gym since he claimed the belt from “Pitbull” with a quick submission at Bellator 263 on July 31. He’s taken “no days off,” he said, and was initially pressing for a rematch at lightweight, where Freire remains champion.

To this point, Freire hasn’t displayed any urgency to get that fight booked, which is leaving McKee in limbo. Although it’s McKee’s goal to become a dual-division champion, he said he’s OK if that’s not his next opponent.

McKee thinks the biggest threat to him is the potential for inactivity. He’s got as much momentum on his side as anyone in MMA, and he has a strong desire to keep the ball rolling.

“I’m not trying to sit out,” McKee said. “I want another fight before the end of the year, whether it’s boxing or MMA – whatever we do – I need to get back in there. I’m not hurt, so let’s run it back.

“Maybe I might defend once or twice then I’ll go up to ’55. We’ll see what happens. If (Freire) don’t want to fight me, cool. I’ll fight somebody else.”