Ultimate Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger Preview Part Three: Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang

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A healthy Court McGee returns to the Octagon for the first time in nearly a year at this weekends UFC event; Battle on the Bayou. McGee, the TUF season 11 winner will face off against Dongi Yang, a lesser known but equally promising young middleweight. The match up is a big opportunity for both men, for McGee, taking out Yang should prove that he is not only fully recovered from his knee injury but ready to continue working his way into the middleweight divisions elite ranks. For Dongi Yang it’s a chance to showcase his skills before a national audience for the first time in his UFC career and if he can stop McGee it surely won’t be his last.

Dongi “The Ox” Yang, 10 – 1 overall and 1 – 1 in the UFC is a South Korean striker who has finished nine of his ten opponents via knock out. Although he came up short in his UFC debut, losing by split decision to Chris Camozzi, Yang bounced back in his next bout by knocking out Ron Kimmons. When Dongi Yang steps into the cage against McGee this Saturday he’ll be looking to add yet another knock out to his impressive record. Expect plenty of aggression from “The Ox” as he seeks to plow past Court McGee in the most important fight of his UFC career to date.

Court “The Crusher” McGee, 13 -1 overall and 2 – 0 in the UFC is a boxer with a dangerous ground game. McGee has finished more than half of his 13 opponents via submission. Add his inspirational story of overcoming drug addiction along with his impressive run on the Ultimate Fighter and it’s easy to see him as a fan favorite in the up coming match. McGee has claimed that he is completely recovered from his knee injury but some may wonder if he will still have the right stuff after an 11 month layoff from action. McGee is experienced fighting in front of a television audience and he’s overcome injuries before so it’s unlikely that he will be distracted by any of the typical doubts that accompany time off from the cage.

When it comes to Saturday evenings co main event between McGee and Yang there will be plenty of potential for an action packed bout. Both men have a proven ability to finish fights and on paper their records have similarities. But Court McGee has trained with some very high level guys including Jake Shields and Nick Diaz, not to mention the mentoring he received from UFC champion Chuck Liddell during his time on the Ultimate Fighter. McGee will rely on what he has learned from these experiences along with his mental toughness to withstand the early aggression of Yang. Expect McGee to use his boxing to set up takedowns, this game plan will be a sure way to frustrate Yang and minimize his knock out power. After all, Court McGee has been dropped before so he may prefer a ground battle over a stand up fight. If McGee fails to find a submission opportunity his boxing would be an obvious back up plan. Keeping Yang outside the pocket with stiff jabs would not only score points but test Yang’s cardio in the later rounds. Court McGee has the skills, experience and ability to win this match up so it’s easy to predict one obvious outcome; Court McGee wins via second round submission.

Skully Williams has been a fighting fan most of his life. What started out as a casual interest in pro wrestling and boxing has evolved into a full time passion for MMA. Combined with his love of writing this pugilistic penman is delighted to be a part of the Inside Fights team.