Court McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
A professional competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local promotions in Utah before winning Spike TV's eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.
After graduating from the high school, he attended Weber State University for a spell before dropping out due to lack of interest.
Following an overdose in which McGee was declared clinically deceased for eight minutes, he was resuscitated and as a result of the damage caused from temporary death to the brain, he had to learn how to walk and talk again.
[4] After rehab and getting himself cleaned up from substance abuse, McGee returned to Layton High School to become an assistant wrestling coach.
[8] In addition to his Mixed Martial Arts career, McGee has also compiled a 2–0 record as a professional boxer in the cruiserweight division.
[11] McGee started his MMA career in 2007 in his home state of Utah, compiling a record of 10–1, with two technical knockouts and five submission wins.
Two notable fights occurred during this period, with a submission win over DaMarques Johnson[9][12] and a loss to Jeremy Horn.
[6] In September 2008, McGee faced Isidro Gonzalez at the "Throwdown Showdown" event in Orem, Utah.
[13] McGee was scheduled to compete in December 2008 against Ray Lazama for the Gladiator Challenge Middleweight title.
In what would turn out to be his final appearance on the local MMA circuit, McGee won by a Technical Knockout (TKO) over his opponent in under four minutes.
[16] McGee was then defeated by the show's number one pick Nick Ring in the sixth preliminary fight.
[21] McGee spent half of his training camp away from his usual gym "Victory MMA", instead preferring to stick with his Ultimate Fighter coach, Chuck Liddell at The Pit.
[22] McGee defeated McCray by submission in the second round with a rear naked choke, making him the winner of the Ultimate Fighter Season 11, despite all the difficulties and bad luck he encountered on the show.
[23] Early in the first round, McGee was hit with a stiff shot that dropped him and later suffered a minor cut below his eye.
[24] McGee was expected to face Jesse Bongfeldt on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131,[25] but was reportedly forced out of the bout due to a knee injury.
[26] Matt Serra-trained fighter Chris Weidman stepped up to take McGee's place on the UFC 131 fight card against Bongfeldt.
[30] After the fight, McGee said "I felt like I had cage control, was more aggressive, out-struck him and attempted a submission in the third round.
[33] McGee faced fellow Ultimate fighter winner Robert Whittaker on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27.
After the fight it was revealed there was an error in calculating the judges scorecards and Strickland was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
[47] After an eleven-month hiatus due to shoulder injury and surgeries,[48] McGee returned to face Alex Garcia on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138.
[5] McGee said that his path into drug and alcohol abuse began when he started to hang out with "the wrong people - drinking, partying.
On an episode of The Ultimate Fighter, McGee said "I took one drink in Vegas and I ended up in Iowa four days later with no pants on and a long sleeve shirt, looking for meth.
[8]The McGee Project was established in 2015 and McGee is the motivation speaker where he gives speeches and provide life-saving education to high school and university students, prisons and youth detention centers regarding the disease of addiction, recovery and positive decisions and goal-setting.