Spokane native Terrance McKinney eager for first out-of-country UFC fight in Brazil

Back in the cage and looking to keep the first-round win streak going, Terrance McKinney (13-4) is scheduled for his fifth Ultimate Fighting Championship match against debut-fighter Ismael Bonfim (18-3) on Saturday.

McKinney’s last fight was in August against Erick Gonzalez (14-7) and ended in the first round when McKinney submitted his opponent with a rear-naked choke. Eager to climb the lightweight ranks, McKinney wanted to jump into the cage as soon as possible – preferably before the end of the year – to complete his five-fight goal for 2022.

Despite his bout against Gonzalez being McKinney’s last fight of 2022, he was eager to return to the cage in 2023, especially since his next fight will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill will prove to be unique for the Spokane native as he fights out-of-country with the UFC for the first time.

“It’s a huge honor to compete in yellow shorts,” McKinney said. “I never dreamed of being in Brazil this soon, but what can’t God do?”

Coming just a month after Christmas, the Shadle Park High School graduate practiced restraint in his diet to keep on-weight at 155 for the fight. McKinney said looking forward to the fight kept him focused during the holiday season.

“You need all the small moments to create some big [moments] you know, take little moments and add it [to] just build something off of it,” he said.

Little moments are all it takes – in McKinney’s instance, seven “little moments” into his debut UFC fight cemented him as a rising star in the promotion. After he knocked out Matt Frevola seven seconds into the first round, he landed in the UFC history books as the fastest lightweight knockout and has maintained a first-round finish in all of his UFC wins up until this point.

Now matched against Bonfim, McKinney says he has to defeat him for his next fight to be against a ranked opponent.

“It gets better every time because I get one step closer to my goal,” he said. “I’m really excited.”

Bonfim is two inches shorter than McKinney, standing at just 5-foot-8 compared to McKinney’s 5-foot-10 frame. McKinney has the advantage in reach for both arms and legs. He also has a higher striking accuracy than Bonfim at 56%, but Bonfim lands more strikes per minute than McKinney and has a better statistical defense.

If combat goes to the ground, one of the fighters’ perfect takedown defense statistics will be tarnished. Neither McKinney nor Bonfim have been successfully taken down in their UFC fights; however, McKinney shoots for the takedown more often and has a 50% accuracy with his takedowns compared to Bonfim’s 33% accuracy.

“We’re looking to keep the streak going and finish [Bonfim] in the first round,” McKinney said.

Bonfim will be fighting his first UFC fight alongside his brother Gabriel Bonfim (13-0) after they earned their contracts in Dana White’s Contender Series in September. Both brothers are from Brazil and this will be the fourth time they have shared a card.

UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill can be watched on ESPN+ with the early prelims starting at 3:00 p.m. and the main card starting at 7:00 p.m.