Court McGee’s miraculous comeback story soared to new heights Wednesday night.
Eight years ago, the Utah native overdosed on heroin and was clinically dead before being resuscitated. Now, he’s making a name for himself fighting in the UFC and he raised his profile with a split decision win over Robert Whittaker on Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night in Indianapolis.
The victory was arguably the biggest of McGee’s career and it didn’t come easy. He was outclassed boxing in the first round, left bloodied with multiple cuts on his face. But in the second round he dropped Whittaker with a combination and McGee’s cardio took over in the third. The pace he pushed was just too much for the Australian.
“I feel good but I definitely feel like I was just in a fight,” McGee said afterward. “My beard looks phenomenal, so I can’t complain. I went after it in there but I just couldn’t put him away in the end.”
McGee says he isn’t thinking about a title shot anytime soon – and he’s still awhile away in the welterweight division. He’s more concerned with spreading his anti-addiction message to the masses, something that becomes easier the more he wins on a big stage like last night.
“I have everything I need today,” McGee told The Post earlier this week. “It’s fantastic. My life is better than I ever imagined it could be. The title is the ultimate goal, but for me I can’t look forward too far. That’s what I did before and it didn’t work for me.”
Condit avenges loss: In the UFC Fight Night main event, Carlos Condit beat Martin Kampmann via TKO in the fourth round (0:54) in a rematch of a 2009 fight that Kampmann won by decision.
Their first fight was razor close and many thought Condit should have been the winner. This one wasn’t nearly as tight – Condit’s precision striking was the difference from the very beginning. Kampmann’s strategy to wrestle came undone in the second round with Condit picking him apart with sharp Muay Thai.
Coming in, Condit had lost two straight, but those fights were against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks. This win establishes “The Natural Born Killer” as the third best 170-pound fighter in the world.