Welterweights
Tim Means (33-16-1, 15-13 UFC) vs. Court McGee (21-13, 10-12 UFC)UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
Some solid matchmaking here pairs off two beloved veterans at the end of their careers, and it will be interesting to see if this fight in Salt Lake City winds up as the retirement bout for Utah’s McGee. “The Crusher” won season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter” back in 2010, and while McGee didn’t shoot to stardom from there, he was a welcome addition to any card. His toughness and solid grasp of the fundamentals usually resulted in an entertaining fight, and his background of overcoming drug addiction and helping others do the same also provided a clear rooting interest. McGee chugged along for over a decade as a tough midcard fighter, even after missing two years due to some major injuries. Back-to-back losses against Jeremiah Wells and Matt Brown were the first worrying signs that McGee might be nearing the end of the road. He’d obviously slowed down in his mid-30s even while having patches of success, but those two losses saw his durability betray him for the first time. Given that standard, it was nice to see McGee survive to the final horn in a loss to Alex Morono in April, but there is a sense that he might not have much of a margin for error left in terms of getting into the win column, so the UFC did well to match him with Means, who finds himself in a similar spot. After a forgettable first stint in the UFC that saw Means drain himself to try and make lightweight, “The Dirty Bird” returned to the UFC at 170 pounds and immediately became one of the cult favorites of the division, showing off a surprising amount of technical skill for someone who is clearly a brawler at heart. A sure bet to bring the violence every time out, Means never got a true breakout victory despite being a consistent highlight of the card, and a few rough losses circa 2019 and 2020 seemed to be the first sign that his career was finally catching up to him. However, he reeled off three workmanlike wins before settling into what seems to be a final late-career slide. Means still has his moments of brilliance, but having such an aggressive style that’s also often reliant on sharp counters has made it a rough go now that his chin appears to be a liability. A win over Andre Fialho about a year ago raised some hope that Means might have just worked his way through another tough patch, but after quickly getting starched by Uros Medic in April, it does seem like time is running out. This fight is a double-edged sword, as these two should wind up having one more war that’s likely going to end with one of them getting knocked out by something they could’ve eaten a few years ago. As to who, that’s essentially a coinflip. McGee’s chin does seem like more of a liability on a punch-for-punch basis, but Means’ style allows for many more openings to get hit by something he doesn’t see coming. The benefit of the doubt goes to the more aggressive fighter. The pick is Means via second-round knockout.
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Means vs. McGee