After kicking of his 2022 in the boxing ring, flyweight Lloyd McKinney returned to MMA this past April with a win over Nate Williams at 3 River Throwdown 18.
Having not gone the distance in a fight since 2017, nearly getting to the fifth round against Williams, McKinney feels like being able to keep the pace going until picking up a fourth submission was a good sign for his skillset.
“I got to fight Nate Williams at 3 River Throwdown in a fight I was looking forward to for a long time, and got the win,” McKinney told MMAWeekly.com. “It went past the third round, so it felt good to into the later rounds and still feel like I was able to perform at a high level.”
In terms of his skills, McKinney believes he’s made solid steps forward over the course of 2022.
“Development-wise I feel like I’ve added some layers to my game,” said McKinney. “I’ve built off the foundation that I have, but I’ve also stepped out of my comfort zone to see how far I can take it and how much I can grow and what my growth potential was.
“I think now seeing that and being able to set realistic goals and find ways to make them measurable, and having fun while doing it.”
This Thursday in Tampa, Florida, McKinney (15-8) faces Santo Curaoto (6-2) in the 125-pound championship main event at CFFC 110.
Nate Diaz: ‘Khabib Nurmagomedov is ‘a little b**ch’
“Santo is a very tough opponent and I’m excited for it,” said McKinney. “He’s at a level where if I can go out and get a good win over him I can put myself in a position to get into the UFC or at least be on the radar.
“I think he’s got a style that’s going to help me bring out my best. I know I have to bring my best to every training session, keep my mental right, and stay calm, cool, and collected because he’s a dangerous opponent.”
While he doesn’t want to force anything on Thursday night, McKinney feels the better performance he has, the better chance he has to get a shot at the next level with a win.
“I want the fight to be as organic as possible, but the goal is to always be at that elite level, so I want to know that I gave it everything I had to get there,” said McKinney. “At the end of the day if it doesn’t work out, I accept that, but I think I’m on the right path and things are starting to line up.”
Lloyd McKinney hoping to grab the attention of UFC with CFFC 110 championship win