McKinney laughs, but he’s all about taking care of business as soon as possible on fight night, and he always has been.
“I love the sport, but every time, I’m like, ‘Who really wants to fight for 15 minutes?’” he asks.
Very true. And the odds are good that he will have his share of 15-minute battles and back-and-forth scraps over his time in the UFC, for now, he’s just enjoying what happened last weekend while finding it hard to put it all into words.
“I really can’t,” McKinney said. “It’s just been so overwhelming. I broke down. It felt so good, knowing everything that I’ve been through, that I can finally change my whole family’s life and it feels so amazing.”
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Seven seconds wasn’t close to enough time to get a read on the 26-year-old and what he went through to get here. And in a sport full of remarkable tales, McKinney’s is Top Ten at least.
For those who haven’t heard his well-documented backstory, McKinney got into some trouble in 2014 that began when he mixed alcohol and drugs. The police showed up and matters escalated, with McKinney, who was hallucinating, getting tased multiple times. Finally subdued, McKinney was declared dead. Twice. When he recovered, there were no relapses, no more trips to those dark places. He was done.
