Lightweights
Esteban Ribovics (12-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Terrance McKinney (15-6, 5-3 UFC)McKinney might eventually figure out some consistency, but for now, it seems best to just enjoy the highs and lows of an exciting but frustrating fighter. A former standout wrestler with some powerful striking and explosive athleticism, McKinney has all the tools to succeed at a high level. Yet he’s mostly focused on bringing the excitement and hoping that the rest works itself out. McKinney is sharp from the get-go, so his career is filled with impressively brutal first-round finishes, but his willingness to dump out his gas tank usually leaves him as a sitting duck by the second round, if not sooner. There was a period, mostly early in 2023, when it seemed like McKinney was trying to fight with more patience and mix in his wrestling. That still left him tired by the second round and produced little in the way of success, so McKinney’s last two bouts have been a return to form where he’s quickly run over Mike Breeden and Brendon Marotte. Those would have been winnable fights at any point in McKinney’s career. Now comes a tougher test in Ribovics. The 28-year-old Ribovics’ regional career looks like a lot of Argentinian UFC signees, as he ran over a ton of competition that was overmatched athletically. Still, those tools have translated to the UFC level. Ribovics eats a lot of offense and has a tendency to get outwrestled, but he’s a powerful fireplug who keeps marching forward while attempting to bring the pain. Loik Radzhabov was consistently able to neutralize him in each man’s UFC debut, but Ribovics got a better chance to show off his wares against Kamuela Kirk in July, rebounding from a rough first round to take the fight over late. As usual, this figures to be McKinney’s fight early, and there’s a decent chance he scores another early finish. Even if Ribovics is historically durable, McKinney has the type of power and accuracy to take out historically durable men. However, the safer bet seems to be Ribovics surviving early and finishing the fight once McKinney burns himself out. The pick is Ribovics via second-round stoppage.
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