Terrance McKinney Wants To Put It All Together

Since his loss in May, McKinney said he has been focusing on his defense, as well as working on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu. McKinney also made a change in his training. He moved to Florida and is now training at Fusion Xcel, where he has been able to train alongside lightweight Mike Davis, who also competes on Saturday night. “T.Wrecks” emphasized how valuable it has been for him to be able to train with high-caliber people, such as Davis. 

That’s not the only way McKinney has been sharping his skills. Every Saturday night, you can always catch McKinney on social media talking about the fights, so you know he is tuned in and watching. He believes there is something valuable to take away, no matter who is fighting. 

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“I'm always taking notes,” McKinney said. “I always tell people, you can learn something from a white belt. That's why I try to stay humble. You can always take anything from anyone, a seed becoming a tree, so take everything you can get.”

He’ll look to implement the lessons he has learned in training and on TV, when he faces Hadžović inside anb Arena on Saturday. Hadžović hasn’t competed since July 2022 but has been in the UFC since 2016. Given Hadžović’s lengthy experience inside the Octagon, McKinney didn’t shy away from giving him kudos. 

“He has done well,” McKinney said. “Obviously, anyone with four wins in the UFC, you have to respect him. He's like a super senior; he would have graduated by the time I got there, so it's just time to show him the new wave.”

Hadžović’s lack of fights in the past few years is something McKinney plans on taking advantage of.

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“I think he's going to have ring rust,” McKinney said. “He hasn't fought in like two years, so we're going to look to take advantage of that and stay in his face.”

Hadžović has only been knocked out once in his career and only submitted once, as well. His other losses have gone to the judges’ scorecards. Meanwhile, McKinney has never been the full distance in his professional career. He has only seen the third round once in his career and it was back in 2018. 

McKinney is eager to show off all the skills that he has been working on, and show off his wrestling, a skill he has had most of his life as someone who competed in high school. He believes that could be a path to victory against Hadžović. The game plan is simple. 

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“Just make sure I'm in his face, put the hands on him, hurt him early, just be a mixed martial artist,” McKinney said. “We saw he had a weakness wrestling, so just making sure I'm mixing it all.”

Stepping in the Octagon for the first time in eight months on Saturday night, McKinney has big expectations for himself in 2025, as he wants to fight three times and go 3-0, and remind everyone he’s still the one who holds the record for the fastest knockout in lightweight history.