Welcome Terrance "T.Wrecks" McKinney

 God bless LFA. 

Need I say more?

Followers of the UFC and Bellator have been spoiled by a roster of talent all brought up in Legacy Fighting Alliance. Household names such as Brandon Moreno, Kevin Holland, Maycee Barber, Darrion Caldwell and Lauren Murphy all cut their teeth in the promotion.

And now a new name rises. Enter Terrance McKinney. a 10-3 Lightweight stepping up on four days notice to replace Frank Camacho, taking on 8-2-1 Matt Frevola. No easy task for the 26 year old, but an 100% finishing rate in his ten victories makes him a menace no matter where the fight ends up.

Fans of Dana White's Contender Series will know McKinney. He lost a tough fight to a very game Sean Woodson. McKinney would taste defeat again in his next bout against Darrick Minner at MCF 18. But that has not stopped McKinney from showing his quality. A 3-fight win streak later and McKinney finds himself fighting on the biggest stage on an explosive card at UFC 263. If his recent finishes are anything to go by, McKinney is a problem!

A vicious ground and pound knockout of Michael Irizarry has landed McKinney a shot at redemption in the UFC and boy am I excited to see him step up. We should not discount Matt Frevola. The "Steam Rolla" lost a split decision to the vastly talented Arman Tsarukyan in his last outing. Tsarukyan's relentless wrestling, scoring 10/12 takedowns was the decider in this fight, and McKinney would be wise to utilise his submission offence against Frevola who enjoys a good scrap. Just watch his fight with Luis Pena. 

Against Pena, Frevola in rounds one and three was pushing the pace, using his striking to setup  level changes against the cage and secure several high amplitude takedowns. What we did see however was a susceptibility for Frevola to leave his head on the centre line, which Pena used to his advantage, peppery Frevola with jabs and straights throughout the fight. Pena also had Frevola in two risky positions on the ground; an inverted head and arm choke in the first and a Kimura in the second. While Frevola was able to escape the positions, he may not be so lucky against McKinney, who has six submission victories to his name. That being said, Frevola does hold a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Matt Arroyo so is no slouch on the ground. 

Saturday night is huge for Terrance McKinney. It will say a lot about his maturity if he comes in and gets the victory over a competitive opponent in Matt Frevola. This fight is stacking up to be one of the best on the card. Frevola's wild brawler style mixed with his explosive takedowns, combined with McKinney's all round sharpness and danger in any discipline. Come on, tell me you're not buzzing for this one! UFC 263 is set to be a banger, don't miss out!

~ James Eakin

Image credits: [Top] "Terrance McKinney | MMA Junkie", MMA Junkie. Available at: https://www.mmajunkie.usatoday.com/fighters/terrance-mckinney [Accessed June '21].