SALT LAKE CITY — As soon as Court McGee finished speaking with Joe Rogan inside the Octagon at UFC 307 at Delta Center, his eyes scanned the crowd. Many of them were still trickling in ahead of Saturday’s main event, but they offered a real home — court advantage early in qualifying.
McGee, who was fighting without glasses, was unable to see his family, his father, wife, two sons Isaac and his crew through blurred vision.
Still, Maggie knew they were there, and a few days after celebrating the crew’s 14th birthday and days before the father and son set out on their annual fishing trip, he made sure to watch them live. He knew what he wanted: grit and determination.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound welterweight opened UFC 307 in his home state with a first-round submission victory over Tim Means, improving his record in the sport to 22-13. It extended to defeat.
It’s been 14 years since he won The Ultimate Fighter – and thanks to Crewe McGee, we remember how long it has been – but McGee, who was born just after Chuck Liddell won the season proved that he still has a lot left in his career.
“My first fight in the UFC was two weeks after Crews was born, and he had just celebrated his 14th birthday,” McGee said after the fight, fighting back tears. “I think it was about the 27th fight, but I had four internal fights.
“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know what to think. I’m just a ‘dad,'” added McGee, an Ogden native. Maggie coaches her sons’ high school wrestling team as well as other teams in Utah’s martial arts and jiu-jitsu communities. “I love coaching my sons wrestling team. I love influencing that age group and being a role model because wrestling can be very difficult at that age. …I just hope they’re proud of me because it really helped me.” “
McGee jumped on Means early and backed him into the cage before forcing the 40-year-old “Dirty Bird” wrestler (33-17-1, fought out of Albuquerque, New Mexico) to the mat.
He then slipped into a neck crank (he calls it a “short choke”) and switched sides before forcing a tapout at 3:19.
It was McGee’s first submission victory since he caught Ryan Jensen in an arm triangle in the third round in October 2010, and his first since defeating Ramiz Brahimaj by unanimous decision in January 2022. .
So was it all about McGee’s “retirement” with his first UFC fight in his home state since Fight Night in 2016? He flatly said “no”.
“I’ve been hearing that for probably five or six years,” McGee said. “When I fought[Sean Strickland in 2017]my beard was huge and I was in between the trimmers and I didn’t have time to get it trimmed. It was a monster beard. At the time, this guy said, “When? I was like, “Are you going to do it?” Are you going to retire? I was 31 years old. It hasn’t even reached its prime yet. What are you talking about?
“Ever since I won The Ultimate Fighter, I had a conversation with Dana (White, UFC President) on the show and I realized I had to have an exit strategy. Then people around me blow out their knees and either they can’t come back or they lose. “I was looking at someone like that.” Getting cut or having a hard time gaining weight.
“So it was always like, this is the last fight. And I thought about it. … But inside I feel good. I’m not going to say I fought safely, but I fought for five hours. I’m here.” Only 10 guys have that much time in the Octagon, but I think I’m used to fighting here, and it feels good to get out early. ”
If Utah State can play again, McGee would love to participate. When his participation was announced, even though it was the first match of an early qualifying round, he felt a jolt through the roof.
He knows what kind of fighting community the Beehive State is home to. The organization has supported his 14-year MMA career, which took him from the depths of drug addiction and homelessness to today’s professional career.
And he wanted to be a part of it for as long as possible.
“We have a great fighting community. But our community is a very humble, very religious community, and even if you’re a star athlete, the humility of this community is affected.” he said. “We have a great boxing community and a lot of the fighters in our gyms work together and come together to put quite a few people on the brink of success.
“Finally, some state officials and local politicians have come together and put together some crazy cards. It’s great.”
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