On this past Saturday night's UFC 149 card, there were a couple decisions that I didn't agree with. The one that was most visibly unjust, in my eyes, was the one for Court McGee vs. Nick Ring. To me, it seemed that Nick Ring ended up with the home cooked meal. It's just another glaring mark on the officiating in our fine sport, and there has to come a point when we won't have to say "Don't leave it in the hands of the judges." I hate that statement, but until MMA judging evolves into a well oiled machine, it is an unfortunate truth. In a recent interview with TapouT Radio, Court shared his thoughts on the decision, how he plans to ensure it doesn't happen in future fights, and also related some gnarly injury stories.

Stephie Daniels: What was your overall train of thought when you heard the decision announced?

Court McGee: I'm not the punch counter. I'm not the guy that makes the decisions. I'm the guy that trains my butt off and gets in there and tries to find a way to win. That's what I did on Saturday. I really worked on my foot movement and cutting him off, because in my last fight, I followed my opponent too much, so I worked on that stuff and I improved it. I tried to finish with a submission attempt and push the pace. I did the best that I could. I had an overwhelming amount of fans tweeting that they thought I won. Even Dana thought I won. There's lots of bad decisions made. It is a big letdown. It is a bummer. It never feels good when you lose and it's hard to deal with.

The most important thing is what you do next. What I do next is heal up my nose and get right back into the gym. I work on coming out in the next one and getting a finish. Then you don't leave it up to the judges. You take their job away. It's just like Dana White says, you don't leave it in the hands of the judges, only with a whole lot more F words.

Stephie Daniels: Did Dana talk with you after the fight about the decision?

Court McGee: He sat me down, and that's what he told me. He said, 'Number one, this is what I always say, and I know you've heard this a million times, don't leave it in the hands of the judges. I had you winning, but you can't leave it in the hands of the judges.' That's exactly right. The next thing I need to work on is following through on some stuff and getting that finish.

Stephie Daniels: Do you feel that's a fair statement, "Don't leave it in the hands of the judges", considering that the judges have a job to do, and part of that includes scoring a decision correctly?

Court McGee: Yeah, you kind of wonder, but I have seen worse decisions, and you have to wonder, how did they come up with that. It's just one of those things. The easiest answer is to get a finish.

Stephie Daniels: When you spoke to Dana, did he give you your win bonus?

Court McGee: No comment. I haven't yet, let's put it that way.

Stephie Daniels: A lot of fights come down to a certain element that is the deciding factor. Would you say that your superior cardio was that element in this fight, despite the loss?

Court McGee: Yeah, I think so. There's a certain point in the fight when you can tell the guy is slowing down, and I could tell he was slowing down. In my mind, the most difficult thing is going into a fight knowing that a guy is going to be difficult to finish and has endless cardio. That's the hardest person to go up against, for anyone.

Stephie Daniels: Where do you go from here? It's a tricky situation, feeling that you won, but probably having to be paired up with someone coming off a loss for your next fight.

Court McGee: I'm here to fight the best guys in the world, and whoever I get matched up with, that will be the person that I'll show up to fight. Something big is going to happen, mark my words. The next time you guys see me, there will be a big difference. All kind of pent up rage [laughs]. You have no idea.

Stephie Daniels: When you come off a disappointment like this, what do you do when you get home? Do you get immediately back in the gym, take few days to reflect?

Court McGee: I'm taking a couple days, just because my nose is mangled. I had my eyes checked out, just to make sure I didn't have any retinal damage or anything. When the swelling goes down, I'll go and get an X-Ray on the nose, but I'll be back to training this week. I'm one of those guys that spends a lot of time in the gym. I want to be the best fighter I can be.

Stephie Daniels: Do you regret blowing your nose during the fight?

Court McGee: I heard Joe Rogan off on the side saying that it was a big no-no, but when Nick hit me, I could still breathe. It did start clotting up in my nose, so I blew it out and kind of flung it outside of the cage. I kind of knew in the back of my mind that it didn't break. I broke it really bad once, and had to have reconstructive surgery. This was maybe seven years ago, when I was still using and drinking. I got into a fight and just shattered my nose. I really busted it bad, and I knew it was broke, but this time, I didn't think it was broke. There might be a little fracture in there, but until I get the X-Ray, I won't know 100%. It's not that painful, it's not crooked, so I don't think it's broken.

Stephie Daniels: What's been your worst injury?

Court McGee: The most uncomfortable injury I've had was in a grappling session. We were doing jiu jitsu and wrestling, and this guy shot on me, so I sat out really hard, and I tore my rectum. It was the most uncomfortable thing ever. When you sit, and scoot to the side, that's the most awkward, uncomfortable things ever. I remember I got home and told my wife, 'I think I tore my butt.' She was like, 'What? Your glut?' And I was like, 'No, my butthole. I did a sitout, and when I sat out, it like spread my cheeks.' It was one of the most painful things. Running...you want to talk about a gnarly injury, that was it right there.

I've shattered my hand, messed up both my knees, broken my ankle. You name it, I've done it. I even tore out the growth plate in my elbow in an arm wrestling match one time. There should be some pictures somewhere, but I have a huge scar on my left elbow. When I was 15, I was in an arm wrestling tournament, and I was in the finals. I locked out and I was top rolling, and when I was going down,it just went, 'Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!' It sounded like somebody hit somebody in the head with a cue ball, and I tore out the growth plate in my left elbow. I couldn't straighten my arm, and ended up having an ulnar nerve relocation, and having a bunch of bone shaved off. It was pretty gnarly.

You can follow Court via his Twitter,@Court_McGee



