McKee was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and lived in Nashville, Tennessee, Dayton, Ohio, and South Central Los Angeles as his mother was a traveling entertainer. McKee did not know who his father was and McKee himself had a troubled upbringing as he was a victim of molestation, was homeless, and was in and out of jail, before he found wrestling at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. McKee excelled at the sport, becoming a two-time state champion in the 138–142 pounds division from 1987–1988 despite being academically ineligible for most of the 1988 season, competing in only 16 matches. He went on to be a two-time state champion for Cerritos College as well as a two-time CCCAA All-American in his two seasons from 1988–1989 in the 142 pounds weight class and held a 61-0 record from 1988–1989. McKee has also opened a gym and a security company and coaches the varsity team for no charge at his alma mater high school. McKee was also the founder of the LocalLucha Libre Wrestling in his hometown. During his long wrestling career, he competed with the likes of Heath Sims, Dan Henderson, and John Smith.
In his professional mixed martial arts debut, McKee received a win over journeyman Shannon Ritch. Mckee told the Los Angeles Times that he used to train by paying his gangster friends 500 dollars apiece to fight him in his garage. Antonio is also credited with establishing an elite MMA training center, "BodyShop Fitness" in Lakewood, CA where fighters such as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the former Tokyo Sabres team have trained. Mckee also asserts that his wrestling is among the best in MMA. McKee is currently in production on his new reality show "Fight School TV." McKee's fought at MFC 22 where he again used his solid wrestling skills to earn a unanimous decision victory over Carlo Prater. The match should have been for the MFC Lightweight Championship but Prater did not make weight. Previously McKee won the MFC Lightweight Championship by defeating Derrick Noble by unanimous decision. Criticized for the number of decisions on his win record, McKee promised his next fight would end in a stoppage or he would retire from the sport.
IFL
Mckee was the subject an MMA program on television as part of the IFL's programming
On September 15, 2010, MMAJunkie reported that McKee had signed a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. McKee asserted to the Los Angeles Times that UFC president Dana White "comes off like a drunk sailor." On October 2, 2010, it was announced that McKee would make his debut at UFC 125 against Jacob Volkmann. Regarding the bout, McKee said that Volkmann did not have the drive to be a UFC fighter, and after his loss, should seek a different career path. McKee would suffer his first loss in nearly eight years after losing the fight via split decision. After the loss, he was cut from the UFC roster in what has since been described as a "loser leaves town" match
Back To Maximum Fighting Championships
After his UFC release, McKee returned to the Maximum Fighting Championship where he was supposed to defend his lightweight title against Drew Fickett but suffered a knee injury in training. McKee then vacated his title, although there is some dispute as to whether he gave it up voluntarily, which he denies, or whether he was stripped of the title.
DREAM
He was to face Shinya Aoki on May 29, 2011 in Japan for Dream but withdrew from the match. Leading up to the fight, Mckee felt that he had already won mentally. The pair eventually fought on at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012 and McKee lost via submission in the second round, immediately tapping after a punch from the grappling expert.
Maximum Fighting Championships
McKee was expected to defend his Lightweight Title against Brian Cobb at MFC 32, but came in 7 pounds over the 155 limit. He was fined 20% of his purse, the fight was turned into a 3-round non-title bout, and McKee was stripped of his title. McKee controlled round one and two of the bout before slowing down and being dominated in the final round. McKee was awarded a 29-28 victory from all the judges. MFC owner Mark Pavelich asserted that after missing weight McKee would never fight for MFC again, nor would he ever hold the belt again.
Bellator MMA
On September 28, 2019, McKee returned to the cagefor the first time in five years when he defeated William Sriyapai at Bellator 228. The 49-year old made American history by competing on the same card as son A.J. McKee.
