“I Didn’t Realize It Was That Intimidating Actually Being In There,” Antonio McKee

UFC lightweight Antonio McKee (25-4-2) finally got the chance to fight inside of the octagon at last weekends UFC 125 event in Las Vegas. The result wasn’t what he had hoped in his UFC debut, losing a split decision to Jacob Volkmann in the opening bout of the event, chalking up his poor performance to nerves.
When your a 40-year old fighter with 30, now 31, professional fights under your belt, nerves weren’t something McKee thought would play a factor in his fight with Volkmann.
MMAFighting.com talked to “Mandingo” about making his UFC debut.

“It was funny because I’ve never really been nervous for my other fights. I was really nervous, not about my opponent, but just the crowd, the people. I didn’t want people to be disappointed in my performance. I was surprised that I got that nervous, but the UFC is intimidating. I didn’t realize it was that intimidating actually being in there. I wasn’t tired, I was just excited. Maybe I was a little too excited. I’ve got to mellow out a little bit. I didn’t think it was the right decision. But you know what, man? I got too excited because I was winning on the feet for the first time in my life (laughs). I was like, I’m going to try and knock this dude out.”

Make sure you check out the rest of the article as McKee offers his opinion of the fight and his promises for his next opponent.