Tom Aspinall’s injury hiatus is costing him big. Aspinall was a unique specimen at heavyweight – a new generation fighter who blended athleticism, speed, and power like no one before him. But the eye pokes in his last fight, and the long layoff before that, have affected him more than anyone would have thought.

First, it was his confidence, which his new manager, Eddie Hearn, said needed to be addressed. Second, it is a UFC record that defined Aspinall’s time inside the UFC Octagon. After his last few fights and periods of inactivity, he has dropped a unique record that was, sort of, his identity as the next big thing at heavyweight. What’s worse, he lost it to someone much, much smaller and nowhere near in the same realm of stardom as he is.

Terrance McKinney‘s performance at UFC Seattle didn’t just get him his 8th win; it broke records. Most fighters take their time to analyze their opponents before making a move. But in the current roster, McKinney, along with Tom Aspinall, has proved to be different. Following a clinical performance last weekend, McKinney overtook Aspinall in an interesting UFC record.

As per the updated UFC stats, Terrance McKinney is now ranked at the top of the shortest average fight time with just 2:16 seconds. Previously, Tom Aspinall held this particular record with 2:18 seconds. But after UFC Seattle, where ‘T Wrecks’ defeated Kyle Nelson in mere 24 seconds into their fight, he moved up.

However, this feat is not based on just a single fight. McKinney has a total of 13 UFC outings. And 11 out of those bouts ended in the opening round itself. While he was on the losing side in three of those fights, the time spent in the Octagon counts, despite the result. The average of those 11 bouts eventually added up to move McKinney to the top of the list.

Like McKinney, Aspinall also boasts similar stats. The Brit entered UFC in 2020, and since then, he has fought 10 times inside the octagon. But how did those bouts fare? Nine out of those 10 fights ended in the opening round itself. However, when we compare it with McKinney’s record, maybe their recent matches have been the reason behind their two-second gap.

While ‘T Wrecks’ beat Nelson in just 24 seconds, Aspinall fought Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 for over four minutes before being unable to continue due to eye pokes. But that’s altogether a different controversy. Now, when it comes to McKinney, what could be the reason for such quick victories?

Terrance McKinney explains the reason behind quick finishes

Opening round finishes always fascinate fans. But in today’s tactical approach in MMA, the number of such outcomes has surely dropped. However, there are fighters, such as Terrance McKinney and Tom Aspinall, who got quite popular due to their opening-round wins.

To do that, in a leading MMA promotion like UFC, is tough. But McKinney has done it eight times, as he explains how he is able to do that.

“I think I can make reads fast,” said McKinney during the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference. “And I got really good accuracy, and plus, like the speed with the power just correlates.”

Like ‘T Wrecks’, Zhang Mingyang is another fighter in the UFC roster boasting a similar record. The Chinese fighter boasted a record of 12 opening-round wins in his professional career before losing to Johnny Walker at UFC Shanghai last August.

However, unlike Tom Aspinall and McKinney, who have over 10 fights in the leading MMA promotion, Mingyang has fought just four times. But if the Chinese fighter comes back and starts finishing people in the opening round again, who knows, he might be the one to topple McKinney from the shortest average fight time UFC record.