Cody McKenzie culminated a year where he appeared as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter Season 12, with a fight on the TUF finale undercard Dec 4th, 2010 against fellow Season 12 alum, Aaron Wilkinson. McKenzie came out and wound up submitting Wilkinson at 2:03 of the first round with a McKenzietine, his patented modified guillotine choke. Not only did McKenzie get the win, his fight was televised on the UFC broadcast, and he won the bonus for Submission of the Night. Almost immediately following the win, it was announced that McKenzie will be next fighting on the UFC January 22nd against veteran Yves Edwards. NW Fightscene caught up with Cody and spoke with him about the recent win, his thoughts on upcoming fight with Edwards, his signature submission move, and much more...

NW Fightscene: What was the feeling like when you walked out to the Octagon?
Cody McKenzie: I loved the feeling... I was amped up. Pretty hard to remember all of it. I remember Rampage Jackson was in front of me while I was pacing back and forth, ready to get out into the cage. And Aaron was kind of just looking real mellow. Not so wanting to be in there with me it seemed like. 

NWFS: How'd you feel about the performance?
McKenzie: I felt fine. I went out there to bang, but right when I came out I saw he first shot.. and [I} went in and wound up taking him down... I didn't really feel like beating on him too bad. I like Aaron, he's a good guy. Once I got in there, I was kind of like 'I don't want to hit him too much'. I mean, I'm sure if I would have been hit once it would have been on. (laughs). I was not wanting to beat on him right then. So I just kept looking for my guillotine, looking for my guillotine, and then just grabbed it up round his chin.. When I was rolling with him I realized I could catch him whenever I wanted.

NWFS: Lets talk about the McKenzietine. Its no secret that it is your move. How did you come up with it? Was it something that kind of came naturally to you?
McKenzie: It just came naturally. Just rolling a lot. It kind of came to me because I wasn't the biggest and strongest guy, definitely not the most athletic. But I love grappling. I have a real passion for it. So I grapple all day long and practice it. And not just grappling but striking too. I just love it. And I just loved MMA. Had a passion for it. Trained real hard and trained a lot... And it just kind of popped up one day when I was getting worked by somebody and I just learned how to grab these bigger guys' necks and they fell asleep.

NWFS: You got another fight right away against Yves Edwards, a veteran of like fifty plus fights. A guy who's been around forever. What are your thoughts on him?
McKenzie: He's an amazing fighter. I think he was on the first UFC card I ever rented. When I was like a sophomore in high school. Yeah, he high kicked Josh "The Punk" Thomson and I was stoked on it... Look up to the guy a ton but come January 22nd, its not going to be his night. Its going to be my night.  

NWFS: What do you say to the people who think you're a one-trick pony?
McKenzie: I let haters be haters. I don't get too worked up... I'm in there to scrap and they'll see it sooner or later.. I've been wanting to fight a guy like Yves Edwards for a long time to prove that I'm not a chump.. At the same time I'm not out there to prove it to the haters. I do this for myself and the fans who love me, and my friends and family especially. 

NWFS: On the show, you lost to Nam Phan. For those that don't know, why wasn't your loss to him counted against your official record?
McKenzie: Because it's in the house. The house is a big science experiment to me.. It's not real life. But at the same time I don't take Nam's win away from him. He beat me fair and square. And I'm definitely going to get him back for that. He's the only guy who ever beat me and the only guy that ever will beat me.

NWFS: Would you like a rematch with him at some point? 
McKenzie: Oh, I would love to. I'd pay him to do it. (laughs)

NWFS: Looking back on the whole TUF experience, what are your thoughts about it?
McKenzie: ..Its paid off. I mean, I got my spot in the big show. And I went into the big show, and I wasn't supposed to be on the main card. And I whooped that ass and they threw me on the main card and I was the only guy to finish so I was pretty stoked about all that. Finally got out of debt. Real excited about that. And now I'm already fighting again. A lot of people were like going to take some time off.. and I'm like I don't need to go back to train. I know how to fight. I want to work everyday. I told them to get me on that December 11th card. Whatever card they can get me on, I'd like to be on it. Because I'm here to make fans and show everybody I can fight, and prove that I'm the best. So I need to be active for that. I want to be out there in the circuit showing everybody I can beat the Yves Edwards.. Guys who I feel are great fighters but its my turn.

NWFS: What was it like while the show was going on, to not be able to talk about the show with your family or friends?
McKenzie: Ha Ha. That sucked. That was miserable. I mean having a gag order on you is miserable. It definitely made life suck for awhile.. I hated it.

NWFS: What'd you do between the time of the taping of the show in the early summer and your fight early this December?
McKenzie: I went to Alaska for a little bit to a couple friend's weddings. I actually just trained a lot. I trained a ton. I also partied a ton. I enjoy my good times... I lived life. But I definitely trained hard. We all train hard. I actually specialized in a lot of standup. I barely worked as much ground for this fight at all. Whoever I was with, go in there and bang and put on a war because that's what the crowd wants to see. I've been working a lot of standup but if I can go in there and get the guillotine, the crowd I realize likes that. If I'm their one trick pony, I'll give them their one trick, until I got to stand and bang. 

NWFS: Are you still sporting the Spanish Conquistador look?
McKenzie: Yeah, I got that going on. I actually just bought a suit today with a bow tie. I was trying to go for the 1920's style, I don't know how successful I was but I like how it turned out. I figured if I'm going to start being big time, then better start looking the part.

NWFS: Who'd you like thank?
McKenzie: My family and friends. I love my family and friends. They've helped me out so much throughout this whole thing. Definitely wouldn't be where I was without them. And they know who they are.

NW Fightscene thanks Cody for taking the time to speak with us. He's set to fight Yves Edwards in a 155lb bout on UFC Fight for the Troops 2 on Jan 22nd at Fort Hood TX.

Cody has a website at TheMckenzietine.com, & is on Facebook and Twitter as well.