Marcus Mcghee Returns After 11-Month Layoff Against John Yannis
Marcus McGhee returned to action this weekend against John Yannis after an 11-month layoff, ending a stretch that began after his bout with Petr Yan last summer in Abu Dhabi. The 36-year-old bantamweight standout said the time away was frustrating, but he kept himself in the fight game while waiting for the next booking.
McGhee’s Long Wait
“This is the way the cards have fallen,” he said of the layoff and comeback. “You choose what you can, and you adapt to what you must adapt to, but here we are.” He also added, “We almost lost this one but thank you to John Yannis for pulling up and deciding to take the fight, so super-grateful to be here now.”
The break was not spent idle. McGhee said he used it to improve in the gym, build his family and build his own mental fortitude. He described the stretch as, “It’s frustrating, obviously,” but said, “Using the time wisely has been good for me.”
Kyler Phillips In Winnipeg
He stayed present in the camps of his teammates instead of sitting on the sidelines. McGhee said, “I was just (in Winnipeg) with Kyler (Phillips); I went through his whole camp with him.” He added, “Mario (Bautista) was fighting; I went through his camps with him.”
Abdul Kamara was part of that same rhythm. “Abdul Kamara has been fighting regularly for Fury FC; I’ve been in there with him,” McGhee said. He described that group work as constant growth, saying the gym kept everyone moving because “you can’t get behind.”
Abu Dhabi To This Weekend
That run matters because McGhee’s last fight before this weekend came against Petr Yan in Abu Dhabi last summer, and the layoff stretched across 11 months before he got back in with Yannis. For a bantamweight contender, that kind of gap can slow momentum, but McGhee framed it as a chance to stay sharp through other people’s camps instead of losing live reps entirely.
He said the long pause never changed his approach. “Gratefully, I have a really based family, a really based lifestyle, and that has kept me grounded,” he said, while also noting, “So many of our guys are constantly growing, constantly fighting, that it forces us to stay in the gym — you can’t get behind — so it’s still been growth, still been the same; I just haven’t fought.”
