Marcus McGhee, the No. 13-seeded UFC Bantamweight, has been a revelation inside the Octagon, earning a shot at the No. 2-ranked fighter in the world, Petr Yan this weekend (Sat. July 26, 2025) at UFC Abu Dhabi. But, his path to UFC was paved with financial hardship, relentless hustle and unwavering faith.
Like many mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters on the regional scene, McGhee earned meager fight paychecks that barely covered expenses. Most regional fighters rely on day jobs to survive ... and McGhee was
no exception.
“I was working in the cannabis industry,” McGhee told MMAmania.com recently. “I was an operational manager for Bloom Dispensary, and my career was doing pretty well. I’m a hard worker, passionate about the industry, and it allowed me to provide for my family. Sometimes, I worked 14 straight 10-hour days, then went right into a weight cut.”
Despite the grueling schedule, McGhee’s focus wasn’t on fame or fortune.
“Honestly, it wasn’t about the money,” he said. “I had a job and was content providing that way. I was just grateful to go pro, to show up healthy, and to test myself. Being a mixed martial artist was the driving force in my life.”
McGhee turned professional in 2020, racking up four wins before fighting for Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), the most prominent United States-based regional promotion, which is in essence a feeder league to UFC. But, just before his LFA debut against Rafael do Nascimento at LFA 135 in July 2022, disaster struck — McGhee lost his job at Bloom Dispensary.
“I got severed right before my fight with Rodney Mondala (May 2022),” he recalled. “Blessings enough, I’d been with the company for eight years, and they gave me a severance package that covered about six months of living expenses. But, after that, things got tough.”
McGhee lost his LFA debut to Nascimento, a setback that stung especially hard with UFC matchmakers having him on their radar. Still, he pressed forward, rebounding with two wins, including a victory over Luciano Ramos at LFA 149 in Jan. 2023. But, with his finances dwindling, McGhee had to do something quick to keep afloat but it seemingly backfired into massive debt.
MARCUS MCGHEE!!! #LFA149 pic.twitter.com/fW52JiHl0t
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) January 7, 2023
“I started a business agreement with some of my other colleagues, and they helped me out which was great,” McGhee said. “So, we just kept moving forward from there — but I got into a lot of debt. We started a podcast, cooking show, all these things to start trying to build with my brand, which is Marcus McGhee, you know. And we still weren’t getting anything.
“I had won that fight in January, and I couldn’t find any other regional fights,” he added. “I had been looking around for months and months, and I wasn’t getting anything. Mind you, I’m not working. So I was going back and forth on whether or not I was going to even be able to just continue to be just a fighter, because my whole training career has been me working, crazy hours and being a father and husband.”
Keeping his faith in God, McGhee kept his head down and continued train. His partners that he went into business with were provided him money to pay his mortgage, which ultimately allowed McGhee to be a full time fighter.
Then out of nowhere, UFC called.
McGhee was offered to step in on three days notice to take on Journey Newson.
“It was very surprising to get the call,” McGhee admitted. “I never lost faith, but I kept saying it during that time, in any interview — ‘I know I got work to do. I’m looking for these fights. Imma do the work. Imma do the work, but I know it’s going to take time.’ I really did think that it’s going to take time to get to the UFC. So when the opportunity popped up, I was like, ‘Is this really actually happening?’
“You know, because I had actually gotten a call a couple times and I had said yes to it for other fallouts, and then it didn’t happen,” McGhee added. “So then when I actually finally got that call, like, ‘Man, this is crazy.’ And then when they were like, yeah, it’s this weekend. And I’m like, ‘Wait, you mean, it’s Wednesday afternoon right now? Like, I gotta make weight on on Friday. Oh, my goodness.’ And thank God I was in the situation where I was fasting, and I was training, and I was on a low weight, and all these things just happened to be in the place. I trusted God’s plan. I trusted his provision.”
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesMcGhee seized the moment, submitting Newson in the second round and earning a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.
“It was relieving to get in there and to see my wife’s face so happy, and to see my kids light up and them go, ‘Whoa, all that work that we see you going through everything we’ve seen you go through’ and, boom, this happens,” McGhee said.
During his backstage post-fight interview, I asked him what’s he going to do with the money and without batting an eye, he replied ‘Pay some debt.’
And that’s exactly what he did, even though his extra $50k didn’t come immediately.
“Everybody thought the bonus came overnight but it takes awhile for it his my bank account,” McGhee said. “So basically, with with fight putrse that I got, I turned around and I think I sent like, $18,000 straight to my debt, right away. And I had only made like, $24,000 I think. So, I sent that straight away, and I had it just enough to pay the bills, until that eight weeks came and I got the bonus. And I remember cutting a $24,000 check right away.
“I remember seeing all that money come in, and then it all leaving so fast, you know, because I was really particular about wanting to make sure that I stewarded the gift that God had given me, you know, I’m saying, and that I did right by those that were doing it for me, you know. So I went right into it and did that.”
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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesMcGhee’s momentum continued. Four months later, he knocked out JP Buys (watch highlights) for another $50,000 bonus, followed by a stoppage of Gaston Bolanos five months after that, earning another $50,000. In less than a year, McGhee banked $150,000 in bonuses, erasing his financial burdens.
Yet, despite finally out of financial debt and stress, he remained grounded.
“It was like everything felt like it should be way bigger than it was. Like I should be, in this way different bracket than I was, and I wasn’t,” McGhee shared. “All these things that I thought would validate me, and all this money I thought would validate me, and all these things that you are seeking validation for, and you realize, like, man, the things that were dear and close to me, were the things that were validating me the whole time — my loving family.
“The money ended up putting us in a position to live more comfortably, right? That was it, but all the other things were already in place, because those were the focuses. I try to tell everybody around me, don’t wait till you make money,” he advised. “Don’t wait till to to be a loving husband, to cherish your wife. Don’t wait till you get to this point to cherish your children and love your children, right? Be building those things and building those blocks.
“Don’t get me wrong, there was the weight off the shoulder of being able to steward the provision, but there was also that humility moment of like, ‘Oh man, we wait for these moments to change our lives, and then just to realize that man, that’s not what changes your life,” McGhee concluded. “All the all the happiness was already being made before the money.”
McGhee recently signed a brand new contract to fight Yan, the No. 2-ranked Bantamweight in the world this weekend. And with another surprising win, he’ll be on the short list to get a title shot — something that wasn’t in the cards literally two years ago.
Self made, debts paid.
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