McKinney Comes In 4.2 Pounds Heavy
At Friday’s official UFC 334 weigh-ins in New York, Terrance McKinney stepped on the scale at 160.2 pounds (72.7 kg), 4.2 pounds over the 156-pound (70.8 kg) non-title lightweight limit. His opponent, Jim Miller, made weight at 155.6 pounds (70.6 kg). The fight stays on the UFC 334 preliminary card at Madison Square Garden, but it will now be contested at catchweight. UFC 334’s early prelims start at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT), the preliminary card at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) and the main card at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), all streaming live on Paramount+ from Madison Square Garden.
McKinney Apologizes and Calls Time on 155
McKinney addressed the miss on social media: “I want to apologize to everyone and @ufc for missing weight. I’ve never missed weight in my life and I’m sorry but ship has sailed for 155. It’s official, my last bout at lightweight. I’m trusting in God will make sure I’m ready for whatever comes at welterweight.” The 32-year-old, nicknamed “T-Wrecks,” is moving up to welterweight (170 pounds, 77.1 kg) after this fight with Miller.
Miller Collects 30 Percent of McKinney’s Purse
McKinney will forfeit 30 percent of his fight purse to Miller as a direct result of the weight miss. The New Jersey veteran made weight on his end and is still going ahead with the fight despite facing an opponent who will be several pounds heavier than contracted by fight time.
A 43-Year-Old Record Holder Across the Cage
Jim Miller, 43, is taking his 60th professional MMA fight at UFC 334. He holds the UFC records for most fights (47) and most wins (28) in the promotion’s history, after debuting in October 2008 at UFC 89 with a submission win over David Baron. He enters off a first-round guillotine-choke submission of Jared Gordon at UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey, in May, his first fight in over a year after stepping away from competition to be by the side of his son Wyatt, 14, who was battling rhabdomyosarcoma. Miller announced at the post-fight press conference that Wyatt had beaten the cancer. Breaking down McKinney ahead of the fight, Miller said: “He starts very fast, very dangerous,” but added that McKinney “does seem to fade a little bit” as a fight wears on. “I gotta be on from the very beginning of the fight,” Miller said of his own game plan, adding that he prefers fights where an opponent comes forward rather than a point-fighting contest, since he feels his odds improve as a bout goes on. Miller is also one of only two fighters, alongside Brock Lesnar, to have competed on both UFC 100 and UFC 200, and he holds the second-most submission wins in UFC history (12), behind Charles Oliveira. His UFC tenure now spans eighteen years, from that October 2008 submission win over David Baron to this November 2026 booking against an opponent eleven years his junior.
An Explosive UFC Entry Back in 2021
McKinney carries an 18-9 professional record. His lightweight reputation was built on his very first fight for the promotion: called up on days’ notice to replace an injured Frank Camacho, he knocked out Matt Frevola in seven seconds at UFC 263 on June 12, 2021, with a one-two combination followed by five hammerfists on the ground. That finish remains the fastest stoppage in UFC lightweight history, and ranks as the fourth-fastest knockout in UFC history overall, behind Jorge Masvidal’s five-second finish of Ben Askren at UFC 239. He bounced back in March with a first-round stoppage of Kyle Nelson, then lost by first-round TKO to King Green in July. Inside the UFC specifically, McKinney holds an 8-6 record across 14 appearances since his 2021 debut, including a 2022 war with Drew Dober that Sherdog recognized as one of that year’s best rounds.
His move to 170 pounds comes after years of struggling to make a stable 155-pound fight weight, despite his claim that he had never missed weight before this Friday. He now leaves the division where he made his name in his very first octagon appearance.
A jump up in weight class also changes the training gear a fighter relies on day to day: our MMA gear guide rounds up our gloves, protective gear and fight-wear comparisons.
