A 24-year-old Rhys McKee got the call to make his UFC debut in the middle of the pandemic. His task was to go to Abu Dhabi and compete on UFC Fight Island versus Khamzat Chimaev on less than ten days’ notice.
The welterweight didn’t hesitate to accept the challenge. Unfortunately, his debut went nothing like he’d hoped.
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McKee’s second crack at the UFC came a few months later against underrated veteran Alex Morono. Although he had more success in this bout, he fell short, losing by unanimous decision.
That’s when the UFC decided to cut ties and release McKee from the roster. It was a tough pill to swallow for McKee.
But McKee didn’t accept the UFC’s choice to let him go. Instead, he returned to Cage Warriors, and over the course of three years he added three stoppage wins in a row to his resume on his way to becoming the promotion’s welterweight champion. The impressive run through Cage Warriors forced the UFC to take another look at the now 27-year-old and offer him a second contract.
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McKee signed on the dotted line and he’ll be back in the Octagon on September 2 to face Ange Loosa.
McKee doesn’t hold any negative feelings about his long journey back to the UFC; he always knew he would be back and now he’s just determined to show that this is where he belongs for good.
“It’s good to be here. It’s been a good road back, a fun road back,” McKee told UFC.com. “I’m ready to perform and show the level I am. I knew I was destined for this and destined to take over the UFC again. All of this is now about showing how world class of an athlete that I am, and it starts this Saturday.”
One of the things McKee is most excited for is the opportunity for him to display a totally different skill set than what he showed during his short UFC stint in 2020. He’s added to his game and utilized the time since to develop into what he considers the most well-rounded and dangerous version of himself yet.
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And he hopes his performance against Loosa will open some eyes to what he can do.
“I want to be known as the man that came into these big fights, shined under the lights and just showed everything that he was about,” McKee said. “Winning these fights with masterclass shows, the type of fights that people go back and watch and go, ‘That’s the exact performance I want you to have.’ That’s what I want. I want to leave a legacy and trail behind me of, ‘That’s how it’s done.’”
To do that, he knows he’ll have to be on his game against Loosa, who enters UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac coming off the momentum of his first UFC victory. McKee thinks Loosa is tough, but he’s confident that he’s competed with fighters that exhibit the same skills as Loosa and that’s going to give him an advantage when the two battle at Accor Arena on Saturday.
“Loosa is good. He’s been about a while with two fights in the UFC – tough fights, as well. But I believe he’s not a fighter I’ve never seen before; I’ve fought a lot of these guys with the same kind of style,” McKee said. “He’s good, he’s durable, he’s all these things, but he’s nothing more than I am. I have this, plus tenfold of skills I have more tools to beat him. I know that I’m very good at finding a way to win, and Saturday night, that’s the plan.”
Delivering the type of performance he knows he’s capable of would be the perfect way for McKee to make his return. It would mean a great deal to him and to his team that they were able to rebuild after his initial time in the UFC and come back better than ever and prove that the Octagon is truly where he’s supposed to be.
“It’s going to be a lot of relief for the whole team. We’ve all known this, from before the first run in the UFC to this one. We’ve all known I was on this level,” McKee said. “Two fights doesn’t mean anything, to be honest, so we went back and put things in place and it’s just going to be a relief to show the world what we’ve already known.”
And if he had it his way, it would be flashy and dominant and make him a name that fight fans are praising after the event.
“I’ve always had a massive expectation on myself. I’ve always knew that I was destined for these great moments, these great nights, the big arena shows, these main events; I always knew that was for me,” McKee said. “If I come out with any performance that is below what I believe is needed and rightfully mine, then it’s a disappointment. I guess I have an internal chip on my shoulder but it’s not for anybody else; it’s only for myself and my team.”
“I’m going to make a lot of noise here. The performance is going to be clinical and clean. Everybody is going to say that I need to be on a higher level and that’s going to be the talk.”
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac took place live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 2, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
