On September 21st, MMA fans will be able to watch A.J. McKee vs. John “Macapa” Teixeira live online. This post will explain how you can live stream McKee vs. Macapa (and all the other Bellator 205 fights) online. We’ll also explain how to bypass regional restrictions with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) so you can watch McKee vs. Macapa from abroad, using your usual streaming services.
Bellator 205 will take place at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. The three main card fights start at 2AM BST (6PM PST / 9PM EST), so we can expect McKee to face off against Macapa around an hour later. Don’t worry if you can’t make it in person, though: below, we’ll explain how you can catch every moment of the action live online.
Note: this article will only be covering official Bellator 205 broadcasters. Unfortunately, high-profile sporting events almost always have unlicensed live streams, but since this event will be broadcast in over 100 countries, there’s really no reason to use them. Remember: officially licensed streams are not only higher quality, there’s no risk of them being taken offline mid-fight.
Best VPN for McKee vs. Macapa: ExpressVPN
VPNs enhance your privacy online by encrypting your traffic, making it unreadable to any outside observers. However, they also allow you to unblock geo-restricted platforms and access location-specific content. We recommend ExpressVPN: it has more than 2,000 servers across 94 countries, has minimal impact on your connection speeds, and can unblock notoriously stubborn services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Fox Sports.
Getting started is easy: just choose your subscription term (one, six, or twelve months) and make a payment. From this point, you have 30 days to trial the service and if you’re unsatisfied, you can cancel within this time to receive a full refund, no questions asked. This makes ExpressVPN an excellent choice for those looking for short-term VPN coverage. For instance, you might be going on vacation or only want to stream one event (like the McKee vs Macapa fight).
Read our full review of ExpressVPN.
How to watch the McKee vs. Macapa fight with a VPN
Unblocking geo-restricted platforms from abroad is easy with a VPN. Just follow the steps below to unblock and stream McKee vs. Macapa from anywhere in the world:
First, register with a suitable VPN provider. We recommended ExpressVPN above, but NordVPN and CyberGhost are two high-performance, low-cost alternatives.
Download and install the VPN software. There will be a few different versions, so make sure you get the right one for your device.
Decide which of the sources below you’d like to use.
Connect to one of your VPN’s servers in the relevant location. For instance, you’d use a Canadian server for DAZN Canada, or a US one for Philo.
Try streaming content from your chosen site. You should find that it loads immediately, without any errors. If not, try reloading the page and clearing your browser’s cache.
It’s a good idea to run through the steps above before fight night. This way, if you encounter any issues, you’ll have plenty of time to get help from your VPN’s customer support team.
Where to stream McKee vs. Macapa online
Despite airing in more than 100 countries around the world, Bellator 205 is available on a relatively small number of different platforms. Below, we’ll show where you can watch the McKee vs. Macapa fight, no matter where you’re located.
US
McKee vs. Macapa will be the first major fight streamed live on the newly released DAZN US. This service comes with a week-long free trial, after which you’ll pay $10 a month. At the moment, DAZN’s US library is a little sparse, but there’s plenty of upcoming content, including this fight.
It’s important to note that DAZN US has very strong VPN detection measures. At the time of writing, major VPNs are still trying to unblock this new service. While other regional DAZN sites won’t be showing the fight, you can access them as normal using a VPN.
DAZN isn’t the only way to watch, though: McKee vs. Macapa will be simulcast on the Paramount Network. Although, you will have to sign in with your cable provider details before you can stream anything. If you don’t have cable TV, you can sign in with a DirecTV Now or Philo account. Both of these services have a one-week free trial, but Philo rarely has sporting content, so DirecTV Now is likely the better choice if you plan to subscribe.
UK
Unfortunately, there’s no British broadcaster showing the McKee vs. Macapa fight live. You will be able to watch on-demand in the days following on 5Spike. You’ll be asked to create an account before streaming: this is free, only takes a second, and you don’t even have to verify your email address.
France, Sub-Saharan Africa, Belgium, Luxembourg
The AB Groupe is set to broadcast Bellator 205 across Africa and various French-speaking countries. This means that MMA fans in countries like Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and the Ivory Coast can watch the exact same coverage as those in Europe. However, to stream any content online, you first have to register on the AB1 website, which costs €3 a month or €30 a year.
While the McKee vs. Macapa fight won’t be streamed live, it’s safe to assume that it will be added to the platform’s on-demand library at a later date. However, as AB1 doesn’t offer a free trial period, we recommend waiting until the fight is actually added before subscribing.
AB1 will broadcast McKee vs. Macapa with French commentary.
Latin America
If you’re in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, or any other Latin American country, you can watch McKee vs. Macapa live on Fox Sports. You will have to sign in with your cable provider details, however, and unfortunately, there are no over-the-top subscription options available. If you’d prefer to watch on a mobile device, you can use the FOX Sports Latinoamérica app.
Fox Sports will be covering this, and every other Bellator 205 fight, exclusively in Spanish.
Middle East and North Africa
OSN is showing the McKee vs. Macapa fight live across Middle Eastern and North African countries including Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Sudan. However, you can’t sign up and start streaming immediately; instead, you’ll have to register (prices start at 161.7SR per month) and wait for your OSN set-top box to arrive.
Note that the OSN Play site doesn’t work with Google Chrome. If you’d like to stream the fight live from a mobile device, you can use the OSN Play app instead. Additionally, the site is geo-restricted, so you’ll have to connect to a server in the Middle East or North Africa if you’d like to watch when on vacation.
Other locations
Don’t worry if your country isn’t mentioned above. With the fight being broadcast in so many different locations, there’s a strong chance you’ll be able to find a suitable local source. Just consult the list of international Bellator broadcasters to see where you can watch.
It’s worth bearing in mind that this list appears to be somewhat out-of-date (for instance, listing RTL9 as France’s official broadcaster despite this channel not showing Bellator fights since 2016). For this reason, we recommend also checking your local broadcaster’s schedule to see if it actually is showing the event. Additionally, not all of the broadcasters in the list will be showing the event live. However, you should be able to stream McKee vs. Macapa on-demand a day or two afterward.
Can I watch McKee vs. Macapa with a free VPN?
Free VPNs can be an attractive prospect, but we strongly advise against using one for several reasons. First, they often have more users than their servers can support. This leads to slow speeds, choppy video playback, and possibly even disconnection from the stream: three things you don’t want when live streaming a major sporting event. What’s more, free VPNs are among the first to be blocked whenever a streaming platform upgrades its geo-restriction measures, so you might not be able to watch even if you get a stable connection.
Businesses exist to make money and free VPNs are no exception; the only difference is that they ask you to pay with your data instead of cash. Most free VPNs inject ads into the sites you visit, but they can also track your activities after you disconnect by using cookies. This enables them to build a highly detailed consumer profile based on your browsing habits, which can then be sold to third parties without your knowledge.
Finally, consider the security risk that these services pose. According to a 2016 study, there are dozens of Trojans on the Google Play Store masquerading as free VPNs. Equally bad, many of the apps that don’t install malware don’t actually encrypt your traffic. These risks aren’t limited to little-known services either: we’ve even seen one major free VPN sell its users’ bandwidth for use in a botnet. To keep yourself and your personal data secure, we recommend using a well-established VPN with a history of protecting its customers’ privacy.
Which fighter is expected to win?
Both McKee and Macapa are experienced, versatile fighters, but each is weak in their own ways. For instance, McKee has never lost a professional fight, but only has 11 wins to his name. In contrast, Macapa has won 21 of his 26 fights, and whenever he’s lost, it’s come down to a decision as opposed to a TKO.
Macapa has a far shorter reach, however (68” to McKee’s 74”). As a result, McKee will likely try to play to his strengths and keep his opponent at a distance. This could be vital to his success since the majority of Macapa’s wins have come by submission. That said, McKee is capable of holding his own if the fight goes to the ground. Ultimately, this fight is too close to call, but this only guarantees a truly exciting main event.
