LAS VEGAS – Terrance McKinney met the media Wednesday ahead of his fight at UFC 323.
McKinney (17-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) meets Chris Duncan (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout on the prelims Saturday at T-Mobile Arena (pay-per-view, ESPN2/FX/Disney+, ESPN+). At media day, McKinney took questions from members of the press corps before his fight.
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McKinney was supposed to fight Duncan a little more than two years ago, but the Scotsman had visa issues and had to pull out. McKinney got Brendon Marotte instead on short notice and finished him in 20 seconds, but was denied a post-fight bonus. After a head-kick knockout loss to Esteban Ribovics, McKinney has back-to-back first-round finishes in 2025.
McKinney has seven wins in the UFC, all by stoppage – and all in the first round. Three of them have been in less than a minute – including a 7-second one to go with his 20 for Marotte. Yet he never has gotten a $50,000 post-fight bonus from the UFC.
Maybe that’s why he said he’s prepared to fight a smart bout Saturday – unless he’s playing possum.
“Not this time. Terrance Magomedov is coming out. I’m looking to get a boring decision, wrestle this guy for 15 minutes straight and get closer to the rankings,” McKinney said.
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He laughed that off, though, so even he expects he’ll be in another car-crash type of battle. McKinney said he sees himself as part of a new generation of lightweight fighters, and he’s prepared to show why Saturday.
Ultimately, a title shot is on McKinney’s list. Not being in fast-paced brawls will be an experience that might serve him well at the next level.
“It’s kind of sad because a lot of my favorite fighters are getting old, but it’s time for the new generation and I think we’re going to do a good job replacing them,” he said. “I think I’m 100 percent in the mix (of title-contention lightweights), and we’re going to prove that Saturday.
“… We’ve just got to put it all together – push the cardio. That’s why I moved to Florida, to Fusion X-Cel. We really get to see Terrance with IQ this time.”
Check out McKinney’s full media day interview in the video above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Terrance McKinney promises higher IQ game plan vs. Duncan at UFC 323
