SAN JOSE — A.J. McKee said his featherweight title rematch with Patricio Pitbull was going to be icing on the cake

But it was the former champion who proved that revenge is sweet.

Pitbull cooked up the perfect recipe to reclaim his championship belt, patiently picking his spots to win a unanimous decision and hand McKee his first loss in the Bellator 277 main event on Friday night at SAP Center in San Jose

The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 for the Brazilian phenom.

Pitbull (33-5) avenged a first-round submission loss to McKee in the $1 million Featherweight World Grand Prix final at Bellator 263 on July 31 at The Forum.

This is the third featherweight title reign for the 34-year-old Pitbull, who also held the lightweight title before relinquishing it last year.

McKee, who turned 27 on April 7, suffered his first loss since turning pro as a 20-year-old. The Long Beach native seemed shocked with the result as Pitbull and his team celebrated.

The fans didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the fight, which saw each 145-pounder taking a methodical approach.

McKee (18-1) enjoyed a 4-inch height advantage and an 8-inch reach advantage over the 5-foot-5 Pitbull, but he appeared to want to stay away from his power.

Pitbull, meanwhile, picked his spots to attack and back out.

The third round held the most action with McKee getting Pitbull down and delivering short, bruising elbows. Pitbull rose and McKee went for a double-leg takedown, but Pitbull wrapped up a guillotine choke and pulled guard. McKee seemed caught but wrenched free after several dicey seconds. He worked his way around to Pitbull’s back but ran out of time in the round.

Pitbull had never been knocked out or submitted in 36 professional fights until he met McKee in the July 31 Grand Prix finale. He was almost felled by a head kick-uppercut combo, but he weathered that only for McKee to lock in a standing guillotine choke to force the stoppage and lose via technical submission.

Before encountering McKee, Pitbull had rattled off seven consecutive victories in which he won the featherweight title and defended it successfully five times and also won the lightweight title to become a double champion.

After his loss to McKee, Pitbull relinquished the lightweight title, allowing his older brother, Patricky, to win it via a second-round TKO of Peter Queally in November.

The brothers are now the kings of Bellator’s 145-pound and 155-pound divisions.

No contest in grand prix final

With the title and $1 million on the line in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix final, an accidental clash of heads left everyone confused and disappointed.

Corey Anderson was enjoying a dominant third round against champion Vadim Nemkov, working on him from the top position before their heads collided, opening a massive cut over Nemkov’s left eye.

Referee Frank Trigg immediately stopped the fight and called the ringside physician into the cage, who called off the fight.

Anderson, his team and their fans celebrated while Trigg conferred with Andy Foster is the current executive director of the California State Athletic Commission and they came to their no-contest decision with the fight tied at 19-19 on all three judges’ scorecards,

Nemkov won the first round and Anderson, with a takedown and substantial cage control from top position, handily won the second. Anderson, having again dominated on the ground, was likely several seconds away from winning the third round and taking a 29-28 lead.

Pico pummels Edwards for TKO

Adli Edwards deserved credit for stepping into the cage on eight days’ notice against Aaron Pico.

But Pico showed there are levels to the MMA game, pummeling Edwards with an array of offense before finally getting the TKO via referee stoppage early in the third round on the Bellator 277 main card on Friday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

Pico, 25, is 6-1 since moving to Albuquerque three years ago to train at Jackson Wink MMA. The Whittier native was coming off a lopsided unanimous decision over Justin Gonzales in November – his only victory that didn’t end in a knockout or submission.

Friday’s fight was at a catchweight 150 pounds since Edwards gamely accepted it on short notice.

Pico (10-3) threw several strikes to the body and head of Edwards, who weathered many of them. Pico also took him down at will. Once on the mat, the fourth-ranked featherweight controlled and cracked him with sharp elbows and punches.

By the start of the third round, Edwards (9-2) was wearing the damage, with redness around his right eye and a sizable welt over it. Pico backed Edwards toward the cage and measured him with two jabs before unleashing an overhand right that staggered Edwards.

A left to the body crumbled Edwards and Pico pounced before referee Mike Beltran jumped in just 55 seconds into the round.

Pico came into the fight expecting to face former UFC fighter Jeremy Kennedy. On April 7, Kennedy withdrew after suffering a broken orbital.

Up stepped the 32-year-old Edwards, who 13 days ago recorded a first-round arm-triangle choke submission of Josh Harvey at XMMA 4 for his seventh consecutive victory.

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Edwards was a 2012 NCAA Division II All-American wrestler at Ashland University in Ohio. But his opponent Friday was a mere point away from making the U.S. Olympic wrestling team as a 19-year-old. In fact, Bellator commentator and former fighter Josh Thomson has called him the best wrestler in MMA

After the fight, Pico praised Edwards for his durability and willingness to fight on short notice, imploring Bellator to give him more fights.