After taking out Matt Frevola in just seven seconds during his UFC debut, Terrance McKinney had to do something he was not used to doing: wait. With a 2021 that saw him win five times in well under a round of total cage time, McKinney had been getting things done fast. However, a positive COVID test from a cornerman and a few other obstacles left him on the shelf for six months. When he got the chance to fight again, he kept that work quick, beating Fares Ziam in about half a round – an eternity for him.
But following his second UFC win, McKinney is going to get a bit quicker of a turnaround. With Ricky Glenn dropping out of his fight at UFC Vegas 50 with Drew Dober, McKinney was on the ready so he wouldn’t have to wait again.
“It kind of just all happened at once. I saw the guy fell out and I was like ‘Yo!’,” McKinney recalled. “But before I could even do that, my management called me and said ‘Do you want to fight Drew Dober?”
His management team immediately thought of the young lightweight due to the fact that he came out of his most recent bout relatively unscathed.
“As you guys saw, I only took one leg strike. And why not keep the ball rolling?” he said. “I’m healthy, I’m not injured, so I will just come in hot and keep it going, baby.”
He also prepared to take another fight quickly. With the possibility in the back of his mind, he mad sure to keep his weight down so that it did not make the fight week weight cut impossible.
“I knew we’re going to fight again, so I tried not to get much bigger than 175lbs,” McKinney explained.
With the mission accomplished as far as getting the fight, McKinney now has a job to do against Drew Dober this weekend. Having already scouted his fellow lightweight, McKinney is confident in the matchup and thinks he has a number of advantages.
“I think my wrestling is definitely going to be the big difference, and I think speed is going to play a huge role in this fight,” McKinney said. “I know I’m a sh*t ton faster than him and I’m definitely going to use that five minutes. And I know he doesn’t do good against wrestlers, so we’re just going to be a complete mixed martial artist.”
McKinney’s fight with Drew Dober will take place on the main card of UFC Vegas 50 this Saturday. The fight will be aired on ESPN+.
You can catch the entire audio of this interview at 46:03.
