Marcus McGhee continued his climb up the UFC bantamweight ladder on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 118, earning a hard-fought victory over the durable John Yannis.
While the win added another notch to his growing resume, McGhee walked away from the fight convinced he still has much more to show and made it clear that his sights remain firmly set on the ranked contenders he believes he belongs alongside.
“John is a tough guy and I didn’t doubt him. I believe in my own skillset, but I knew how tough he was and how hard he is to finish. He’s never been finished,” McGhee told Cageside Press among other reporters at his post-fight scrum.
“That was one thing we took into it.”
McGhee (11-2) said one of the more interesting aspects of the matchup is that, despite his rapid rise through the UFC ranks, he still considers himself a fighter who is learning and developing in real time. While many fans view him as an established contender, McGhee believes he’s still gaining valuable experience every time he steps into the Octagon.
“Experience-wise really he has more experience than me. It’s so hard for me because I’m new too. I just have been able to accomplish what I’ve been able to accomplish while also being new,” he said.
“I’m learning on the job as well. I’m glad to be able to learn on the job with the wins and all the accolades, but I’m still new. I don’t consider myself to be like a vet of any such.”
Despite picking up another win, McGhee made it clear he isn’t interested in slowly working his way back into the rankings. The bantamweight contender believes his skill set still stacks up with the division’s best and feels he belongs fighting the names currently occupying spots inside the Top 15.
“I’d rather be fighting up in the rankings, I think I still should be there. That’s not the performance I wanted to put on and I believe I have a better skillset than I even showed tonight for sure,” said McGhee.
“Nevertheless I don’t think that I should have been out of the top 15. I should be up there competing against those guys. I’m not here for a long time, here for a good time, right?”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Marcus McGhee above.