Aaron McKenzie wants his UFC shot.
After grinding for years, McKenzie (11-2-1) is ready to prove himself in the UFC after winning the LFA lightweight championship. At LFA 128, he defeated Lucas Clay via a very close split decision to get the strap.
While he was a little worried about going to the judge’s scorecards, McKenzie’s coach knew he had the victory.
“Anytime I go to decision, I’m always we’re always worried. Rafael [Lovato) was so confident because he saw the stats, and he knew how the fight was. But he just kept repeating the stats, telling me I did it; he knew. And so his confidence gave me confidence that I probably could have done it,” McKenzie told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview.
“I knew I had a lot of control time in the last round on the fence. He was not going down, and I wasn’t going down that round either. I just was a little worried about that last 10 seconds after he hit me in the nuts and then just went crazy,” McKenzie continued. “That was the only thing that I think worried me about that last round, but none of that even hit, so that’s what sucks; it looked bad because I tripped and fell forward. But none of the strikes caught me at all.”
There have been five LFA lightweight champions before McKenzie, and all but one have made it to a major organization. Two have gone to Bellator, and the other two went to the UFC and PFL.
The 33-year-old wants his shot. He believes he has earned it and can compete with the best in the world. While he prefers to go straight to the UFC, if he has to go through Dana White’s Contender Series, he will.
“I understand that I’m not in a position to make the decision. I would love to go straight to the UFC. I’d love to have a chance to prove that this title is as legitimate as they come. I want to prove that I belong in the UFC. And I want to show them that I can survive and make a great career out of it,” McKenzie said. “I got five to seven more years at a high level, and I think I can put together 15 to 20 fights. I want to be active, and they’ve got the people that would help me be active. I don’t want to fight once a year, twice a year; I want to get three, four, or five fights in for as many years as I can right now.”
“I’d love for them to give me that shot. But with that being said, if they think I need a Contender fight to prove myself against another tough dude, I’ll beat up another tough dude. All right, that’s all I’ve done, and that’s all I’m going to continue to do. Those are the guys in the UFC. So, those are the guys we fought outside of UFC, and I absolutely believe Lucas will be in there eventually, too.”
With Dana White’s Contender Series coming back in a few months and with the UFC always looking for the best fighters in the world, McKenzie is staying ready. He was already back in the gym getting ready to seize any opportunity that comes his way after his title fight.
Watch the rest of our fight with LFA 128 winner Aaron McKenzie above.
