Kris McCray is a TUF 11 Finalist and veteran of the UFC. Growing up in Germany and the United States, McCray is a Team Gold Medal Grappling (a Lloyd Irvin affiliate) fighter who’s based out of Woodbridge, Virginia. Prior to embarking on his professional career, McCray compiled a perfect 10-0 amateur record and then went 5-0 as a pro before appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2010.

Primarily known for his grappling, McCray enters the sport with a high school wrestling background from the state of Virginia (Woodbridge High School). He possesses good strength and an impressive arsenal of takedown, trips and suplexes – especially from the clinch and his opponent’s back. McCray also looks to back his opponent into the cage where he can work his takedowns from in close. Staying tight to his opponent from top position, McCray possesses an active ground and pound game. He throws good elbows and punches from side control, mount, and inside his opponents guard while displaying competent submissions awareness from the top. While McCray is a adequate wrestler, cardio has been an issue in his early career and he certainly isn’t immune to being put on his back. McCray is much more effective when on top, and will need to work on his offensive, defensive, and positional guard skills.

McCray does utilize his jab and deliver good body kicks standing. Although he’s a grappler by trade, McCray is willing to let his hands go and will press the action even when he’s obviously tired. He works a nice jab-cross combination and shows promise in his dirty boxing game from in close - utilizing uppercuts, short punches, elbows, and knees well to the head and body of opponents. While his willingness is commendable, McCray will need to continue developing his standup game technically. His punches tend to get long, and McCray hasn’t shown overwhelming speed or power in his striking early on. His combinations are often loose, and although McCray can take a punch he still has a tendency to leave his chin unnecessarily exposed. McCray will need to continue focusing on his defense, head movement, footwork and technical striking proficiency.