Marcus McGhee eyes Jose Aldo after Martinez's UFC 309 half-horse kicks
NEW YORK – Marcus McGhee beat Jonathan Martinez with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Take a look inside the fight with McGhee, who won for the sixth straight time – but failed to get a post-fight bonus for the first time in his four-fight UFC run.
Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jonathan Martinez (red gloves) fights Marcus Mcghee (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Result: Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: McGhee (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Martinez (19-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC)
Key stats: McGhee doubled up on Martinez in the striking department and threw more than twice as many strikes, as well.
McGhee on the fight’s key moment
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jonathan Martinez (red gloves) fights Marcus Mcghee (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
“Physically, I still feel pretty good. Obviously, the leg is a little bit beat up. Man, that guy kicks like a horse. I think he is a half horse, half man – I swear. You see those thighs on that guy, man? Super impressive. I feel like it’s actually pretty good and he just landed one thing and was really accurate where he landed at. It was the same spot twice. And I was like, ‘Gosh, man, I’m pretty good about taking that thing away, and you still found it, man.’ Lucky enough, I kept finding that right hand, so it ended up paying off.”
McGhee on where he’d love to fight
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jonathan Martinez (red gloves) fights Marcus Mcghee (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
“I don’t want to go to Brazil. Like (to fight) anybody – I don’t want to. I’m sorry. There’s some people are like, ‘Yo, I want to go travel (to Brazil). Not me. Not me, man. I don’t want to go travel over to Brazil and fight over there. I love Brazilians. That’s all good and gravy. But man, I’m not trying to do all that.
“Japan – I will say that I just love the Japanese culture, so I would love to go to Japan. But that’s about as deep as it gets. New York, it’s already done. That’s checked off the list. So honestly, Arizona. I want UFC to come back. I want a full turnaround. Let’s fight in Arizona.”
McGhee on what he wants next
Oct 5, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Jose Aldo (red gloves) hugs Mario Bautista (blue gloves) after their fight during UFC 307 at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave me Jose (Aldo). … We’re both right there next to each other in the rankings. He’s a little bit older. I’m a little bit older. I wouldn’t doubt that that’d be a fight that they make. … Why don’t we get Jose Aldo back in Arizona? That sounds good. That’s asking a whole lot. And that’s kind of disrespectful to that man. I don’t know what. I’m talking about.”
To hear more from McGhee, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.