Terrance McKinney never expected to fight King Green, but once the UFC came calling with a spot on Conor McGregor’s return card, the decision became impossible to pass up.
Although Green believed the two had an understanding not to fight one another, McKinney says the opportunity at UFC 329 was simply too big to refuse. While he understands why Green may feel slighted, he insists the matchup comes from respect, not disrespect.
“I posted this funny video on my Instagram calling him out and then he’s like man let’s not take each other’s shine man. Pretty much saying like we’re black, we’re supposed to be brothers, and I’m like you know what I’ll take the post down,” McKinney told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“I was like you right. We only hung out really once. So he comes down, drives two hours, we hung out for a little bit. That was pretty much it. Literally a week later the UFC contact my manager. Yo you want to fight Bobby Green on a Conor McGregor card? I sent him a message like, bro it’s really up to you. What do you think? But to me I really can’t say no.”
Forget rankings, politics, or who’s friends with who, McKinney says one thing made this decision incredibly easy. When the UFC calls and says, “Hey, you want to fight on Conor McGregor’s comeback card?” there’s really only one acceptable answer.
“This is something like all fighters dream of. We grew up watching Conor McGregor, being a fan, and being able to fight on this card that is something you can’t turn down,” he said.
“He didn’t respond so I was like bet, easy, I know he’s going to accept it. Let’s go.”
Despite the tension surrounding the matchup, McKinney made it clear there is no lack of respect for what Green has accomplished inside the cage. The rising lightweight says accepting the fight had nothing to do with disrespect and everything to do with his willingness to compete against anyone the UFC puts in front of him.
“He’s an OG of the game. I’ve got nothing but respect for him. What he’s doing is incredible specially at his age, so we did not take him lightly nor did I think he’s soft or anything like that,” said McKinney.
“I just had to say yes. I’m not one to turn down fights.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Terrance McKinney above. He faces King Green at UFC 329 on Saturday night.
