If there's one guy on the cast of "The Ultimate Fighter 11" who wishes PRIDE rules were in effect in the U.S., it just might be Clayton McKinney (4-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

After all, he's been using soccer kicks for years.

"Soccer was the sport that I played my whole life," McKinney told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I think that's why I kick so damn hard."

Born in St. Louis, McKinney spent most of his youth in his current home of Florida. Soccer was the dominant sport in McKinney's youth, though football and the very un-MMA sport of tennis also played a role in his athletic development.

"I love tennis," McKinney said. "The only reason I picked it up is if you play football, you have to run track. I hate running. But if you played another sport, you didn't have to run track.

"I haven't played tennis in a couple of years, but every once in a while, I'll go out and play. I watched some of the Australian Open when we were locked in the rooms (before filming for "TUF 11" began), but I don't follow it too much. But those guys are badass. I've got mad respect for those guys."

Those guys probably have mad respect for McKinney, too. The striker was featured in the debut episode's final prelim fight, and he was forced to destroy the nose of his friend, Charley Lynch, to make his way into the house.

Despite a lack of real martial arts training in his childhood, McKinney said his soccer background actually helped him prepare for his "TUF" experience.

"I've always been kind of a little scrapper," McKinney said. "Soccer, I know, some people say is a weak sport, but we were pretty tough. We put some contact into that. We definitely got in some scraps on the soccer field, and once I got to college, I was just partying and hanging out, and we always brought the boxing gloves out and beat people down.

"I just loved to fight, so I was like, 'Damn, I'm actually somewhat decent at this for not knowing anything. Let's maybe try and get paid for it.'"

McKinney started off in 2006, and he took his first pro fight shortly after beginning his training at a former American Top Team affiliate – electing to skip the amateur ranks entirely.

"I figure I'd just start getting paid right off the bat," McKinney said.

McKinney had trouble getting fights in the early stages of his career. Local shows are notorious for no-shows, changes and cancellations. So to fix the issues, McKinney tried briefly to channel his inner Dana White.

"I quit training for like a complete year," McKinney said. "I was kind over it. A lot of fights fell through for me on the smaller circuits – people were getting injured, I got injured. I was just kind of over it for like a year. Then I said, 'Let me try to make some money promoting it.'

"I lost about 30 grand and decided I'd go back to fighting."

That's when he ended up with Tom Lawlor and Seth Petruzelli at Jungle MMA and Fitness, a place where McKinney's green hair hardly causes a ripple.

"I like to entertain people," McKinney stated. "I'm not stone cold and, 'Oh, I want to kick everybody's ass.' I like to kick people's asses, but I can have a good time doing it. I can dance coming out to the cage to some funk music. I like to have a good time with it."

McKinney has earned three of his four career wins by knockout or TKO, but he's also suffered two setbacks, both to UFC veterans, in his young career. Danillo Villefort submitted McKinney in 2007, and Steve Bruno did the same in 2009.

McKinney remains especially bitter about the Bruno loss.

"[Expletive] homo," McKinney said. "That was in September. That was when I was down in St. Pete just chilling and not having a care in the world. I didn't train at all for the fight.

"No excuses. He beat me fair and square, but I think he's a chump. I'll put my UFC contract on the line to fight him. I'll never lose to that chump again."

Big words from a fighter just trying to make his way in the UFC, but if he continues the impressive display of striking exhibited in the debut episode, he may indeed wind up with a UFC contract to wager.

"It's definitely going to be the toughest six weeks of my life, for sure, but at the same time, it's an amazing opportunity, and I'm stoked to be here," McKinney said.