Court McGee Fights for the Last Time at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City

Court McGee is done after Saturday. The 41-year-old welterweight opens UFC 332 against Eric Nolan at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, closing out a 25-fight UFC run that began more than 16 years ago when he won Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. It's the last bout on a four-fight deal he signed in 2023, and this time the retirement is real.

McGee walks away at 23-14 (3 KO, 9 SUB), an 11-13 mark inside the Octagon that undersells the names on his ledger — wins over a young Robert Whittaker and Ramiz Brahimaj among them. He told me straight: he's not hanging on for a paycheck. He's fighting because he still wants to, and because he's a guy who sees contracts through to the finish.

The Deal That Set the Clock

The decision traces back to his May 2023 loss to Matt Brown, who stopped McGee by first-round KO. Coming off neck surgery and a rough stretch physically — bad sleep, short temper, the works — McGee renegotiated for four more fights knowing exactly how it would end. He squeezed out of an arm-in guillotine against Alex Morono in his return and realized he had more in the tank. The paperwork, though, had a shelf life.

He almost got the perfect ending already. At UFC 307, back in his home state, McGee submitted Tim Means in the first round to snap a three-fight skid — and to break a run of eight straight decision wins before it. It looked like a sendoff. But the deal wasn't up, so he kept going, eventually landing this slot when matchmaker Sean Shelby offered him a fall date in Salt Lake rather than a spring card in Vegas.

Nolan (8-5, 4 KO) comes in on a two-fight skid, most recently dropping a decision to Farman Hasanov. McGee isn't buying into the narrative. He's been on two-fight slides himself, and he figures Nolan has just as much to prove over 15 minutes. His read is simple: the better man wins on the night, and he's committed to all of it.

What comes next is the part McGee's actually excited about. The Utah legislature is helping organize an afterparty and silent auction to fund The McGee Project, his nonprofit built around speaking engagements at schools and juvenile justice facilities that can't afford them. He says he feels better than he has in years — not 'great enough to keep cashing checks,' but clear-eyed about the long-term cost of the sport.

Asked for the biggest lesson of 15-plus years at the top level, McGee landed on consistency and the ability to ride out the inevitable swings. He's preparing for Saturday the way he's prepared for every fight since 2010 — like it could be the last. This time, finally, it is.