Following a lackluster bout between Jonathan Brookins and Erik Koch at UFC Fight Night 25, Court “The Crusher” McGee and Dongi “The Ox” Yang got off to a slow start of their own.
The first round was fairly even. Yang landed some solid leg kicks and McGee landed a good right hand that wobbled his opponent, but it was a largely uneventful otherwise. Neither fighter absorbed much punishment as most of the round was spent judging distance and moving in and out of range.
The second round started out with both fighters swinging a bit more wildly before settling down. McGee attempted a takedown, but Yang showed his impressive Judo pedigree and avoided it.
Court “The Crusher” McGee got tagged a couple of times, but circled away and shook it off. Yang was starting to slow down and McGee began working for another takedown, but the fight remained on the feet. Yang started to telegraph his punches and lower his hands.
McGee’s stamina was impressive, and he was barely breathing heavy. Both fighters traded shots, but nothing much is landing. Yang landed a huge shot that rocks McGee and sends him to falling towards the cage. “The Ox” landed a huge flying knee chasing after him.
Yang managed to get the fight to the ground, but missed an opportunity to take the back, neglecting to put his hooks in. McGee got back to his feet, with Yang looking exhausted.
McGee finally got a takedown and momentarily mounted Yang but, after a scramble ensued, they got back to their feet. McGee got another takedown with less than 20 seconds to go. He attempted a guillotine that nearly finished the fight as the round closed.
Overall, this was an extremely close bout that simply came down to “The Crusher’s” superior conditioning. He looked exactly the same four minutes into the third round as he did at the start of the bout. “The Ox”, however, was still breathing heavy, waiting for the judge’s decision.
Court McGee won by decision (30-27, 29-28 and 30-28).
This fight doesn’t mean all that much for the middleweight division, and wasn’t decisive enough to prove that McGee is a force at that weight, but it was a decent performance from The Ultimate Fighter winner, showing that he may be ready for someone along the lines of Dan Miller or Jason MacDonald.
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