Marcus McGhee is targeting a statement rebound when he meets John Yannis on June 6 at UFC Fight Night 278 from Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
McGhee enters the bantamweight matchup with a 10-2 professional record and a 4-1 mark in the UFC, looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Petr Yan in July. Yannis brings a 10-4 MMA record and is 1-1 in the UFC.
Reflecting on the Yan fight, McGhee said, "I think I learned that I'm at that level," and added, "That I can compete with the guys at the highest level. I think I also learned that there's times where you have to be cautious, and there's time where you have to throw caution to the wind."
He also emphasized what the experience revealed about him outside the result: "I also learned a lot about my character: How I show up, how I'm a professional, how I carry myself and out of all if it, to go across the seas and challenge myself like that and compete like I competed, it just gave me a lot more respect for the character I bring to the table."
Looking ahead to Yannis, McGhee said, "He's got some momentum behind him," but believes he can find a finish: "That being said, I definitely think there's a lot of different areas I can get the win and the finish. … I think I can get a knockout in emphatic fashion."
