Eric Nolan didn’t let playing the villain role spoil his UFC 332 outing, taking out the retiring Court McGee in the opening bout of the prelims.
“Thank you for everyone who came,” McGee said. “Twenty years I’ve been sober, 16 I’ve been fighting the best in the world.
“Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t achieve your dreams.”
McGee looked to take control of the fight’s pace to start, while Nolan looked to use his distance and land with his jab. McGee clinched up and pressed Nolan against the fence for about a minute, landing several inside shots before separation. Both fighters had their moments in the first, with McGee seeming to have an edge, but an elbow from Nolan at the buzzer rocked him.
McGee looked to get back in the fight in round two, but Nolan continued to find the mark with some powerful right hands. Nolan also defended McGee’s grappling attempts well, going 6-for-6 in defending takedowns through 10 minutes.
Nolan pressed McGee into the fence during the third round before rocking him with a right hand. Nolan landed a knee while chasing a wobbled McGee, but McGee landed a right hand to try to stay in the fight.
Unfortunately for McGee, another right hand on the button crumbled him, giving Nolan the win via TKO in round three.
“For all you people out here booing me, if you know my life and where I came from, you wouldn’t be booing me,” Nolan said. “I have so much respect for this man.”
This was Nolan’s first win in the UFC, following losses to Baisangur Susurkaev and Farman Hasanov.
McGee went 11-1 to start his career, with his sole loss coming to Jeremy Horn, before competing on and winning season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. He finishes his Octagon career 11-14 in the UFC, including wins over Robert Whittaker, Ramiz Brahimaj and Tim Means. McGee has also fought the likes of Sean Strickland, Matt Brown, Carlos Condit, Michael Chiesa, and Sean Brady.
