MANIAC ON THE LOOSE
McGhee makes most of shot at the big time
YOU would have to be some kind of ‘Maniac’ to agree to step into the octagon on three days’ notice.
Fortunately Marcus McGhee had faith he was finally on the road to glory.
With Journey Newson looking for a new opponent at UFC Vegas 72 after the late withdrawal of Brian Kelleher, McGhee, 32, got the call from the UFC that he had long been waiting for, agreeing to a 140lb catchweight bout.
And ‘The Maniac’ made the most of his unexpected opportunity, sending Newson to the canvas in the second round and clamping on a debutwinning rear-naked choke.
Living by the adage ‘if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready’, McGhee, from Arizona, was at the crossroads of his career, literally and figuratively, when he got word he had been called up to the big dance.
He said: “I was in my truck, about to go and get something to eat. I was looking for a fight and sure enough my coach called me up, ‘Hey, you ready to fight?’ I was like, ‘What?’ – and took a left instead of going straight and headed home, thinking, ‘I better not go eat!.’
“When I got that call, to be honest, I was nervous, scared, petrified – all those things. I have a lot of faith in myself and I believe in myself, but at the same time I am a very humble man.
“Looking at things from the outside, this is the UFC, this is the biggest platform in the world and I have respect for this game like no other.
“I understand what it takes and what these fighters give. So when I first got the call, I was like, ‘Three days? Oh my gosh. Can I do this?.’
“But then I put my faith in God and realised there was a reason why I didn’t go eat, there was a reason why my weight was on point, there was a reason why all this happened. He put me in a position to do it and I just had to show up for the moment.”
Having got his hand raised and put himself on the map in the UFC, picking up a $50,000 performance bonus along the way, McGhee is hoping to showcase his talents further with the added bonus of a full training camp next time out.
The bantamweight, who now has a 7-1 record, added: “I haven’t been as active as I have wanted to be. I just want to fight and show the world that I am here to do that and that I love what I do.
“I want to show myself really, show that I am doing all these things for a reason.
“This is just the beginning. I plan on taking off from here.”