Court McGee Retires: A Career by the Numbers
Image credit: UFC.com
Court McGee ended his fighting career where it belonged: at home. The 41-year-old Utah native lost to Eric Nolan by third-round TKO in the opening bout of UFC 332 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, then laid his gloves in the Octagon and walked away after 16 years in the promotion.
Nolan handed McGee the microphone afterward. McGee thanked the crowd, said he had left everything in the cage, and told them: "Don't let anybody tell you you can't achieve your dreams."
The Final Numbers
- Professional record: 22-15
- UFC record: 11-14
- Official UFC bouts: 25
- Fights with the promotion: 29, counting his exhibition bouts in the TUF house — a figure McGee gave himself in his retirement statement
- UFC tenure: 16 years, from 2010 to 2026
Few fighters survive the UFC roster for that long. Sixteen years spans multiple generations of welterweights.
The Beginning
McGee entered the UFC the old-fashioned way: through a reality-show tournament. He won Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2010, going 3-1 in the house — including a win over future UFC stalwart Brad Tavares — and earning his contract with a victory over Kris McCray at the TUF 11 Finale on June 19, 2010.
Before that, he had gone 11-1 on the Utah regional scene after beginning his professional career in 2007.
Signature Wins
The highlight of McGee's UFC run came in August 2013, when he took a split decision over Robert Whittaker — the man who would go on to win the UFC middleweight title.
His other notable UFC victories included Josh Neer, Alex Garcia, Claudio Silva, Ramiz Brahimaj, and Tim Means, whom he submitted at UFC 307 in October 2024. That submission — fittingly, in the same Delta Center where he retired — was his final win.
Along the way, McGee shared the Octagon with a cross-section of two eras: Sean Strickland, Sean Brady, Carlos Condit, Matt Brown, Michael Chiesa, Ben Saunders, and Santiago Ponzinibbio. He never fought for a UFC championship, but few gates are more battle-tested.
Octagon Time
The numbers say McGee was built for the long haul. OctagonStats data shows his 25 UFC bouts produced 19,005 seconds of cage time — more than 5 hours and 16 minutes, averaging 12 minutes and 40 seconds per fight.
- UFC wins by decision: 8
- UFC wins by submission: 3
- UFC wins by knockout: 0
- Decision losses: 10
He was a grinder, not a finisher. Nearly three-quarters of his UFC appearances went into deep water, and none of his UFC wins came by strikes.
The Legacy Numbers
- Age at retirement: 41
- TUF 11 winner — one of the last active fighters from that era of the show
- Home-state farewell: retired in Utah, 20 miles from where he grew up
- Wins by finish (career): 11 of 22
McGee also carried one of the sport's best-known personal stories. He entered recovery from heroin and cocaine addiction as a teenager and remained sober for 20 years — a milestone he referenced in his farewell speech. It was as central to his identity as any statistic.
"The Crusher" leaves with 22 wins, 15 losses, 25 UFC bouts, and a roster tenure that outlasted nearly every fighter who debuted alongside him. For a man who started 11-1 on the regional circuit in Utah and ended it in Salt Lake City, the bookend could not be neater.
Sources
- Court McGee retirement statement and career details (sherdog.com)
- McGee's 16-year UFC run, 11-14 UFC record, notable wins (mmainsight.com)
- UFC 332 TKO loss to Eric Nolan, retirement announcement (mmamania.com)
- TUF 11 run, Whittaker win, career record 22-15 (heavy.com)
- Last win over Tim Means, notable victories, farewell speech (si.com)
- Bout-level statistics (octagon time, win methods) — OctagonStats database
Fight data compiled from public statistical sources (ufcstats.com) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). OctagonStats is an independent database, not affiliated with UFC / TKO Group.