Join us as we preview a hot UFC prospect from this week’s UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green MMA event.
Read on for our complete UFC Vegas 49 betting guide – taking a first look at our hottest prospect of the week, Terrance McKinney, and his opponent, Fares Ziam, including updated UFC odds and our free expert UFC betting picks.
UFC Lightweight Preliminary Bout
Saturday, February 26, 2022 – 05:50 PM EST at UFC Apex
Following a near-death experience due to a drug-induced situation and a career-threatening injury, one of UFCs latest editions to their lightweight roster, Terrance McKinney, has an inspirational story during his rise to the big leagues.
McKinney, 27, set his goals of becoming a UFC competitor since his freshman year, so much so that he even contemplated skipping college altogether. His initial love for mixed martial arts began on the wrestling mats of Shadle Park High School in 2013, where the Chicago-born McKinney obtained consecutive State 3A wrestling championships at 138lbs.
As a junior college All-American wrestler, McKinney had already obtained the ideal MMA base skillset to consider pursuing the sport on a full-time basis. And without hesitation and just one amateur bout, he jumped to the professional leagues in 2017.
Fast-forward two years, under the tutelage of Rick Little, McKinney had overcome a gruesome leg injury and was heading to Dana White's Contender Series with a 7-1 pro record. He, unfortunately, lost his UFC contract opportunity, but much like the Spokane, Washington fighters under coach Little before him, he was far from finished with the sport.
In 2021, McKinney found himself on a 3-fight win streak, and the opportunity came calling at UFC 263 versus Matt Frevola. On the biggest stage of them all at a UFC pay-per-view, McKinney emphatically handed Frevola a fight-ending left cross within seconds of the first round.
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A well-diverse skillset is what makes McKinney a serious prospect and a potential top-10 ranked star of the future. Combining his wrestling roots with the blue belt level of Brazilian jiu-jitsu he garnered at the Sik Jitsu gym in Spokane has gifted him with multiple submission finishes, and as witnessed during his UFC debut, his punching power is something to behold.
Still very young in the sport, the possibilities for McKinney's career are endless. Despite being a standout wrestler in high school and college, we're yet to see his grappling prowess under the UFC lights or since 2019 because his explosive striking power has ended his previous four fights inside the first minute of the first round.
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Fares Ziam (12-3-0) is another bright prospect who'll be looking to make his name known this Saturday evening. The 24-year-old Frenchman failed to secure a victory on his UFC debut but soon returned with back-to-back successes.
Top-rated sportsbooks have positioned McKinney as a+110 underdog, but I struggle to understand how the oddsmakers can give the one-dimensional fighter the slight advantage.
McKinney will own a significant wrestling advantage, jiu-jitsu advantage, and he'll possess the more significant potential to deliver a knockout blow. Ziam will need this fight to remain at a distance for fifteen minutes to find any success with his long-range striking, and I just can't envision McKinney allowing this to play out.
UFC Pick: McKinney to Win (+110) [1u returns 1.10u] at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
⦁ Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green [UFC catchweight main event bout]
⦁ Misha Cirkunov vs. Wellington Turman [UFC middleweight co-main event bout]
⦁ Priscila Cachoeira vs. Ji Yeon Kim [UFC flyweight bout]
⦁ Arman Tsarukyan vs. Joel Alvarez [UFC lightweight bout]
⦁ Gregory Rodrigues vs. Armen Petrosyan [UFC middleweight bout]
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.