Fighters often carry the weight of difficult pasts, and for some, that includes battles with addiction. Time and again, we have seen names like Geoff Neal battling addiction. While a few overcome, some struggle. For 31-year-old Terrance McKinney, who recently won his fight against Kyle Nelson at UFC Seattle, the realization about alcohol prompted serious changes. And after drawing results from it, he seems quite content.

“I just really didn’t think I could ever quit drinking,” McKinney confessed in an interview with FULL SEND MMA. “I’ve been drinking since I was 19, and drinking was leading me to doing my family wrong, my girl wrong. And finally, I just gave it all to God, and like I told you guys, through Christ, all things are possible.

“And I can finally say, like I don’t even have the urge to drink after dinner, and I’d never thought that was a thing that’s going to happen in my life. So, I just want to tell you guys it’s possible. Get around your support team and people that love you, man. And like I tell people, when I was a kid, I used to have fun sober, so I could still do it now. And I’m realizing that. [How long has it been?] I’d say around 4-5 months.”

For those unaware, McKinney has already seen the worst effects of substance abuse. During an interview in 2024, ‘T Wrecks’ recalled an incident from 2015. A young Terrance McKinney, at the age of 20, was already a two-time Washington State high school wrestling champion.

However, his hope to represent his country at the Olympics was derailed when, one night, the police found him covered in blood. Fuelled by a mix of LSD, alcohol, and psychedelic mushrooms, McKinney was at a place where he experienced an excited delirium. During the drug-addled phase, he reportedly fell through a window, following which his heart stopped twice.

But somehow, the doctors managed to save him. Following the incident, he used the experience to warn others, working with the Youth Police Initiative to share his story with high school students. Nearly a decade later, McKinney has turned his life around. Now sober, he is also building momentum inside the Octagon. Widely regarded as one of the more explosive talents in the UFC lightweight division, he has eight first-round finishes to his name.

Not only that, but after his victory over Kyle Nelson at UFC Seattle last weekend, McKinney broke the record for the shortest average time spent inside the octagon at 2 minutes and 16 seconds per bout. Surely, the detachment from alcohol has given him something better to work towards now. McKinney’s journey echoes that of former UFC champion Alex Pereira, though their paths to addiction were very different.

When Alex Pereira reflected on his alcohol addiction

When we compare Terrance McKinney’s story with Alex Pereira‘s, there is a stark difference. For a 20-year-old Terrance McKinney, intoxicating addiction was just a fun escape. But for a young Alex Pereira, it was an escape from his tough life. At just 12 years of age, the Brazilian left school to help his father and support his family.

Along with that, ‘Poatan’ also took up a job at a tire shop. And thus, arguably, the hardest phase of his life began. Pereira reportedly came under a lot of negative influence from his co-workers there. To that end, they ultimately pushed him towards alcohol. And as years went by, he became heavily addicted.

“At that time…I used to drink almost 1 liter a day,” said Pereira in an interview with Brazilian MMA Legends on YouTube. “I already had a kind of, I don’t know if it’s the right name, a ritual. Until 12 pm, I used to drink 3 cachaças—one at 10 am, one at 11 am, and another one at noon. I already had a schedule.

“Until recently, I was kind of afraid, ashamed… But today, I see the need for it. How many people are suffering from alcohol or drug problems? Not only directly, but also the family. So today, people have the opportunity to know where they can be saved.”

However, by the age of 21, Pereira found kickboxing as distraction. For the Brazilian, it was an escape route from poverty. And the rest is history. Now, as Pereira prepares to fight Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House card on June 14, he is on the verge of creating history himself.

Today, his story stands as another example of how fighters can overcome personal struggles and rebuild their lives, something McKinney is now doing in his own way.