LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 22: (R-L) Court McGee punches Claudio Silva of Brazil in their welterweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 22, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
On Saturday, Court McGee will step into the Octagon for the 25th and final time. The Ultimate Fighter 11 winner has spent over 16 years with the organization and has decided now is the time to hang up the gloves. For ‘The Crusher’ the retirement story actually begins in 2023.
“I injured my neck quite a few years ago. I had about maybe eight to ten fights on it and then I finally got an opportunity to fight Matt Brown,” McGee recalled. “I was pumped and ready. I went out and I had a great fight. It started off great and then I hit him with an elbow and kind of reshot on a single and my arm went numb.”
At that time, McGee thought that might be the end of his career. He had had injuries before, but this one made it impossible to do anything. He decided to get the injury fixed first before making any decisions and was pleasantly surprised.
“I got my neck fixed and I still had one fight left in my contract. I just kind of left it up to God,” he said. “It’s the only surgery in the 17 or 18 that I’ve had where I felt better post-op. When I came out dude, I was like, oh my god, I can move after the surgery – as in the room right after. The pain down my arm was gone.”
It wasn’t long after the surgery that he got on the horn with one of his bosses to discuss the reality that he had some more time. That final stretch had its ups and downs, but as the last fight neared, the perfect ending was right in sight.
“I called Sean [Shelby] and talked to him and just was like, ‘hey, this is kind of what I’m thinking. I want to do four more and then I’m gonna hang it up just age-wise,’” McGee explained. “I had a couple of pretty good fights – some good battles and some close battles. And I anticipated that they would come back [to Salt Lake City].”
Salt Lake City was where it all started for McGee. Although fighting close to home was never ideal for him during his first couple fights, it’s a dream scenario for this one.
“I used to hate fighting in my hometown, especially early on in my career. My first big fight was out the Delta Center – where it’s at now – and it was in my first year of competition. My first fight was like February of 2007 and then I fought Jeremy Horn in December of 2007,” he shared. “Closing it out in that venue is super sweet. Having my family there is gonna be really cool. I have friends and family flying in. I’ve contacted the majority of my coaches and sent them like personal messages and it’s cool.”
You can see that storybook ending for McGee at UFC 332. The Orem-native will fight Eric Nolan on the preliminary portion of the card, which begins at 4pm EST on Paramount+.