Jackson McVey didn’t really have time to introduce himself to UFC fans, but he hopes to more fully acquaint himself the second time out.
For 13 years, McVey (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) worked toward his dream of being able to slap “UFC fighter” on his resume. His love for the sport began in high school when he picked up the UFC Undisputed 2 video game – the one with Brock Lesnar on the front.
McVey, 26, fell in love with fighters like Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, and Donald Cerrone and eventually decided he wanted to give the real-life thing a shot.
“I actually remember when before my mom got me the video game, she’s like, ‘Jackson, you’re not… you’re not ever gonna want to be a UFC fighter, are you?'” McVey told MMA Junkie. “And I was like, ‘Mom, don’t be ridiculous. Come on, dude. Like, no, of course not.’ And now, fast forward, 13 years later, I’m in the UFC.”
Persistence paid off. Almost every fighter who reaches the UFC life has to make extreme sacrifices navigating through the financially thankless regional scenes. McVey worked various odd jobs to pay the bills, intertwining his schedule with training wherever it fit.
“I worked as an EMT working nights,” McVey said. “Then, after that, I decided to get into construction and I was a drywall hanger, and the hours worked out really well, where we’d start at 5 or 6 a.m. I’d be off by 1 or 2 o’clock in the afternoon, so I’d have the whole day basically just to train for the rest of the day.”
But a phone call in June changed everything. Mick Maynard messaged manager Jeremy Bjornberg. Not only was he interested in McVey, but Maynard had a straight-to-the-big-show opportunity. The promotion booked McVey against Sedriques Dumas for UFC 317 on International Fight Week.
That’s when the unforeseen changes began. Dumas withdrew due to not being able to get his court-ordered ankle monitor off in time. In stepped promotional newcomer Christopher Ewert.
McVey flew to Las Vegas and cut weight, only to have Ewert weigh 10 pounds over. The fight was canceled, but that didn’t stop Ewert’s passionate Chilean fanbase from hurling (admittedly hilarious and somewhat accurate) memes his way.
“After the UFC 317 weigh-ins debacle, Chris Ewert was from Chile, and so he lets everybody know all the fight’s off, he weighed in 10 pounds over, they canceled the fight, blah blah blah,” McVey said. “So then I get a bunch of these messages and comments and everything from all these Chilean fans calling me a chicken, calling me, you know, the whole gamut, right? Some things I’d probably not worth repeating. But one of the dudes though, one of his fans, posted that picture of Kid Rock walking on the beach, right? And they captioned it, ‘Jackson McVey makes his way to the scale,’ and I said, like, dude, that is perfect. This is amazing.”
Before long, the UFC had another withdrawal and asked McVey to step in. It was a tall task: Brunno Ferreira at UFC 318 in New Orleans. Weeks later, McVey cut weight again. This time, he competed.
Though he lost to Ferreira by first-round armbar submission, McVey said the experience was invaluable. The instability and chaos of circumstantial changes last time may cause peace and comfortability the second time out.
“I’m thinking in my head of just being on that grand of a scale with UFC 318, it was Dustin Poirier’s going away party, basically,” McVey said. “I mean it was the sendoff for a legend. Being in that atmosphere, being around all those fans was really cool. But I’ll be honest, having all those fans going rabid, it was like, ‘Holy crap. This is bigger than any LFA I’ve ever been to. It was a good experience. I got my, got my feet wet. I got some good experience. Obviously I was really disappointed with how the fight went, but I think that going back and learning from my mistakes, fixing those those little things and realizing you’re in the UFC now, there’s a certain level and a certain way you have to carry yourself.”
McVey’s second UFC bout will come Nov. 8 at UFC Fight Night 264 when he battles Robert Valentin (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. McVey split time between his home gym of Saint Charles MMA in Saint Charles, Mo., and the MMA LAB in Phoenix. He said he’s ready to show the world a new form.
“The UFC brought a banger (when it signed me),” McVey said. “I’m here and it’s gonna be bloody. It’s gonna be violent. It’s dynamic. I can finish anybody from any position. You put me on the ground, I can choke choke them out. If you put me on the feet, I’ll crack them with something hard. I come there to finish fights. I come there to to put on a show point blank period, and then post-fight interview, you never know what you’re gonna get with me, right? I could pull out an impression or two. My Donald Trump LFA post-fight interview went a little viral on Instagram and TikTok. I’m just saying. So there’ll definitely be more of that in the future. I’m not just a Trump guy either. I can do plenty of other voices. So I’m excited to, to bust those out.”
