​LAS VEGAS — Terrance McKinney wasn’t about to pass up a chance to fight on a Conor McGregor card. McKinney, who owns an 18-8 record in mixed martial arts with an 8-5 mark inside the UFC, is set to square off against King Green, a 35-17-1 veteran with a 16-12-1 UFC ledger, in the main card opener on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will air on Paramount+. Green and McKinney have history as friends, which complicated the quick-fire path to their showdown, especially after Green accused McKinney of chasing clout.
McKinney addressed the tension and offered his side of how the matchup came to be during the UFC 329 pre-fight news conference on Wednesday. He explained that they had hung out in the past, but the relationship wasn’t as deep as it might have appeared. “I posted this funny video on my Instagram calling him out, and then he’s like, ‘Man, let’s not take each other’s shine.’” McKinney recalled. “(He was) basically saying we’re Black and we’re supposed to be brothers, and I thought about it and said, ‘You know what? I’ll take the post down.’ I agreed. We only hung out a few times when I was managed by Iridium. He drove two hours to come down, we spent a little time together, and that was about it.”
Then, just a week later, the UFC reached out to McKinney’s team about a potential matchup with Bobby Green on a Conor McGregor card. McKinney said he texted Green to gauge his thoughts, and he acknowledged that rejecting the opportunity wasn’t really a consideration. “If it were up to you, what would you think? I told him I really can’t say no. This is something every fighter dreams of. We grew up watching Conor McGregor. Being a fan and getting the chance to fight on his card is something you can’t turn down.”
McKinney emphasized that the respect between them remains intact, even as he looks to defeat Green. Green is known for engaging with his opponents during fights, a habit that often sees him exchanging words or even directing chatter toward his adversaries. McKinney, meanwhile, has earned a reputation for recording some of the fastest finishes in UFC history, raising the stakes for this contest.
Reflecting on Green’s tendency to talk during fights, McKinney offered a biting prediction: if Green keeps chirping, he might end up paying a high price. “I hope he talks so he can get that jaw twisted,” McKinney quipped. “So yeah, talk. It’s going to hurt real bad when I hit you in your mouth and you’re talking.”
The digital echo of this story originally appeared on MMA Junkie, where the headline hinted at McKinney’s hope that Green would talk in a way that could set up the jaw-twisting moment McKinney envisions. As fight night approaches, both men are focused on the task at hand: rising to the occasion on a marquee card and delivering a performance worthy of a high-profile main card slot on a night dominated by the Conor McGregor spectacle. With the world watching, McKinney believes the chance to compete on such a card is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—one that doesn’t come around twice for a fighter chasing greatness in the Octagon.