MMA: Lloyd Mckinney Stops The Gremlin at LFA 70

Lloyd “Albie” McKinney of La Crosse, Wisconsin defeated fellow Wisconsin mixed martial artist Gonzalo “The Gremlin” Ponce by Triangle Choke at 2:43 into round one last Saturday night at LFA 70 in Madison, WI.
Iron Works Training Centers Stacey Anderson told Minnesota Fight News that the fight began with Lloyd connecting with a kick and punch before taking Ponce to the canvas where he was momentarily caught in a guillotine. The two grappled and fought on the ground before Mckinney was able to lock up the submission for the first round victory. The win brings Mckinney’s record to 14-6 while Ponce falls to 4-3.

Lloyd Mckinney stops Gonzalo Ponce at LFA 70.

” The fight itself turned out better than planned to be honest”, said Mckinney. “My game plan was to be patient and play the long game and use my range, to be honest, but that went out the window a little quicker than I had anticipated. Gonzalo said something like “be ready for fireworks” on his social media the morning of the fight and he was pretty spot on. The moment the ref told us to fight it was like someone lit the wick on the mortar and it was only a matter of time before the finish came. This time around I just felt way more comfortable on the ground and willing to engage with him in the grappling exchanges. Once I defended his initial attacks I got a good read on his movement and mechanics and I was able to find the triangle strangle. He did a spectacular job of defending it but my coaches gave me amazing advice from the corner; staying patient, under hooking the leg, breaking his posture, etc.”

McKinney and Ponce fought two summers ago at Clash of the Flyweights on July 13th, 2017 in Danbury, Wisconsin. That fight went three gritty rounds before Mckinney was able to end things with a guillotine choke. The quick finish this time around and composure Mckinney showed is a reflection of his constant training and desire to grow in the cage.

“In our first fight we really respected his Jiu Jitsu skills and the gameplan was to chip away at him to get him tired and less dangerous with his submission skillset. We focused on striking as much as we could on our feet before the fight inevitably went to the canvas, where we employed a very conservative gameplan of staying in position before looking to do damage and to disengage whenever we felt threatened. That gameplan was amazing the first time around and we were able to yield the results we wanted.”

Mckinney accepted the fight on just three days notice he says because the chance to fight on Legacy Fighting Alliances’ first ever card in Wisconsin was too much to pass up. Ponce was scheduled to fight another opponent but after he fell through, it opened the door for Mckinney to step in.

“I took the fight on short notice because I wanted to be on the first LFA card in Wisconsin. At first it didn’t sound promising as they had made the match-up with Gonzalo and his original opponent. When the opportunity presented itself I wasn’t going to let it pass me by. Credit goes to my team, management, girlfriend, and support group for keeping me consistently in the gym and believing in my ability to take a fight on “short notice”. Credit also goes to the sport of Wrestling because in that sport, especially in college, you need to be ready to go because if your coach needs you to perform, you step up and do it to the best of your ability!”

“I’m very grateful that things went my way and I’m excited to see what the future holds. I want to thank LFA and everyone that made the fight happen. I also want to thank God for keeping us both safe throughout our battle. And thank you for reaching out and supporting me on my journey.”