Just five months into 2021 and lightweight Terrance McKinney is having arguably the best year of his career with two first round TKO victories in two bouts. Perhaps more impressively than merely getting finishes in his wins is the fact that McKinney hasn’t had to go past the 20-second mark in either of his bouts.
After picking up a 16-second TKO of Dedrek Sanders at SHP 59 to start off his year in March, McKinney followed that victory up with a 17-second head kick win over Toninho Gavinho at LFA 106 on April 30.
“Honestly I’m really happy about my performance,” McKinney told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s crazy to have two finishes like that back to back at almost the same time. I’m just happy with my preparation and me being humble and giving it to God and trying to train every day.”
Though both of his bouts this year have not gone very long, it is still important for McKinney to see the things he’s developed in the gym play out in his fights.
“Training does help, but it’s actually good to be able to see things landing in live action,” said McKinney. “The energy and the feel is just way different in the fight. To see the feint working and the guy actually dipping, just like the drill, it’s nice to see that.
“I want people to really see my stand-up this year. I want them to know that I can stand and trade with the best people in the world. On the ground they already know I’m highly skilled there. I just want to show that I’m a true mixed martial artist, and I just want to show the fans how hard I’ve been working on that.”
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While it would be near impossible to keep up the kind of success he’s had so far in 2021, McKinney is aiming to do just that as he establishes himself as someone to watch in the lightweight division.
“This year I plan on knocking out every opponent who I face,” McKinney said. “I want to show the UFC that I’m ready to fight anyone, the best in the world. My main goal is not to just win a couple of fights; my main goal is become a UFC champion.
“I’m just waiting now. I know I can get on the Contender Series. I can take a short notice UFC fight, whatever they have available. If something isn’t popping by the time June is, I’ll definitely fighting in the LFA or the CFFC, and try to get on one of those cards.”