Athletes
Terrance McKinney Had To Make Necessary Changes
Two Years Into His UFC Career, Terrance McKinney Is Living Out His Dream, But Had To Make Adjustments In Order To Keep Growing
It’s been two years since Terrance McKinney made a UFC debut that had people talking for weeks and months to follow.
A seven-second first-round knockout of Matt Frevola in Arizona is a memory that McKinney will hold on to forever. And since that first time he stepped into the Octagon, it’s been nothing but a dream for the 28-year-old.
“Being able to share the cage with some of the best athletes in the world, it just feels like a video game,” McKinney said. “I finally get to be the character that I create in a game. It's been a movie, man. I love every second of the UFC, the fight week, the build up to it. It's just nothing but a movie every time. I can't help but smile because God brought me such a long way and I'll never take any of this for granted again.”
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Of course, it hasn’t been an easy road for McKinney, who has gone 2-2 since his fight with Frevola. Most recently, he was knocked out by Ismael Bonfim at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But following that fight, McKinney worked on adjustments in order to improve his game.
That meant doing his training camp in Texas with welterweight Kevin Holland, along with a few other fighters.
Terrance McKinney Notches One Of The Fastest KOs In UFC History | UFC 263
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Terrance McKinney Notches One Of The Fastest KOs In UFC History | UFC 263
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“These guys have just been big brothers to me and are really just showing me how to move around as a UFC fighter; not just inside the cage, but outside the cage,” McKinney said. “Just making sure I'm being a professional on the media side and making sure I'm interacting there and showing up to events. They show me how to be a champion, and it's been a huge honor.”
Not only has McKinney had a huge change when it comes to training, he also recently became a father. He admits he hasn’t been getting much sleep and, at one point, had to have his son go to Oregon so he could focus on training. Even with the ups and downs, being a dad has made McKinney more motivated than ever before.
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“I finally know what real love is,” McKinney said. “I never knew what it was like to really love someone until I got to see the face of my son.
“It was a little bit more nerve wracking having the fight now because winning is the only option now. It stresses you out a little bit, but it also motivated me, and when my son was watching me jump rope, it made me able to go harder. Just seeing him there, his presence, his energy. It makes me want to give him my all and stop being lukewarm in the fight game. I'm ready to go all-in and give my son the best future possible.”
Leading up to his fight against Bonfim, McKinney said he suffered an eye injury during his weight cut which he believes lead to the confusion on fight night and, ultimately, the knockout.
“A lot of people don't know but I got eye poked there during my weight cut that week,” McKinney said. “I started having double vision; not taking anything away from him. He showed up, he was excellent, and had a phenomenal performance. I thought it was better and I went into the fight, and I got in those bright lights, and I was seeing double bad.”
He didn’t want to take anything away from Bonfim, which is why he hasn’t spoken about the eye poke previously. Regardless, the loss made McKinney focus on his weight cuts more, focusing less on training as weigh-in day approaches and focusing more on water intake.
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The change in camp and preparation has led him to meet Nazim Sadykhov, who trains with the man McKinney knocked out in his debut, Frevola.
“I think this fight has 50 Gs written all over it, so I'm happy they put us on the main card like we deserve,” McKinney said. “I just think it's going to be fireworks. I like how he gets down. He throws down with the hands. I think that the separation is going to be the athleticism, my ability to wrestle and my ability to stay long.”
McKinney believes that having two years’ experience in the UFC, compared to this only being Sadykhov’s second UFC fight, will be a difference maker come Saturday night. He has faced top-tier competition and it’s going to show inside the Octagon; all he has to do is set the tone early.
“He likes to back people down the whole fight and we're going to look to show him that if you keep coming like that, you're going to get cracked. We're looking to take the game plan that he's so used to putting on everyone and making them have to rethink and fight a whole different fight, and that's where we're going to find the finish.”
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