Erick Gonzalez has returned from injury jonesing for a Fight of the Night bonus.
His opportunity comes on the eighth of August, at UFC Vegas 59 opposite lightweight prospect Terrance McKinney; who Gonzalez believes was ‘exposed’ by Drew Dober in their recent outing.
The 30-year-old has praise for his opponent’s obvious strengths but believes ‘T-wrecks’ leans too heavily on certain areas of his game, as evidenced in that March bout. Accordingly, he gave little credence to the built-in ‘short notice’ excuse that came with McKinney’s gamble in accepting that fight.
“He’s very explosive, he’s very fast. He’s got a lot of highlight reels, a lot of first-round finishes,” Gonzalez noted in a recent interview with The AllStar. But added, “After his last fight, Drew Dober kind of exposed where he was at.”
“Even though it was short notice for him, he was still coming off a fight the month before. So it wasn’t too much of a short notice if you ask me. He was more than prepared to fight another fight, considering how fast he won in his last fight.”
Gonzalez is expecting more of the same high-paced brute force that his dance partner is known for when the cage door closes come fight night. McKinney is too dependent on his power, ‘The Ghost Pepper’ says, and that will likely be his undoing once again.
“He’s very strong and very explosive and powerful – and I think he’s going to depend on that. He’s very stuck on this highlight train, where he wants to finish everything in the first round. He wants to get in and finish as fast as possible.”
“I get it,” he added. “We’re all fighters, we all want that highlight reel. That’s what’s gonna create a great fight. It’s gonna be a fight of the night for sure.”
The stage is certainly set for a bonus-winning clash, and Gonzalez is no stranger to weathering a storm to claim victory. His durability will no doubt play a factor in the fight to come – and despite a recent KO loss to veteran Jim Miller, the California native believes his chin is without question.
He points to his brawl with the ‘Korean Gangster’ Won Sik Park to support his claim.
“I made it known [in that fight] that I’m fucking as tough as they come. I’ll bite down on my mouthpiece and just walk forward. It takes a lot more than just a few punches to take me down.”
The 20-fight veteran claims that he thrives on that sort of energy.
“I like when guys hit me with one of their hardest shots and they think it like phased me – and I’m just like ‘alright man, now it’s my turn.”
“I have some pretty heavy hands and I think a lot of people can see that. I hurt people.”
As such, Gonzalez gave a uber confident prediction for his sophomore UFC outing:
“Finish it by the second round – in whatever fashion I want.”
Fighter profile
Erick “The Ghost Pepper” Gonzalez is a 30-year-old male fighter from the United States with 14 pro wins and 6 losses. Gonzalez is scheduled to fight Terrance McKinney at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
Erick Gonzalez’s recent form coming into this matchup
Erick Gonzalez has gone 3-2 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Loss vs Jim Miller • KO/TKO R2 0:14 • 2021-10-16
- Win vs Samuel Alvarez • Decision R3 5:00 • 2021-08-07
- Win vs Oziel Rodriguez • KO/TKO R3 0:37 • 2021-03-19
- Loss vs Humberto Bandenay • Decision R3 5:00 • 2019-12-20
- Win vs Milko Tucto • Decision R3 5:00 • 2019-12-20
Erick Gonzalez’s next opponent: Terrance “T.Wrecks” McKinney
Terrance “T.Wrecks” McKinney’s recent form coming into this matchup
Terrance “T.Wrecks” McKinney is a 27-year-old male fighter from the United States with 12 pro wins and 4 losses. McKinney is scheduled to fight Erick Gonzalez at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
Terrance McKinney has gone 4-1 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Loss vs Drew Dober • KO/TKO R1 3:17 • 2022-03-12
- Win vs Fares Ziam • Submission R1 2:11 • 2022-02-26
- Win vs Matt Frevola • KO/TKO R1 0:07 • 2021-06-12
- Win vs Michael Irizarry Ortiz • KO/TKO R1 1:12 • 2021-06-04
- Win vs Toninho Gavinho • KO/TKO R1 0:17 • 2021-04-30
How to watch and bet on Erick Gonzalez vs Terrance McKinney
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