McGhee claims UFC has sidelined him with weaker opponents since Petr Yan defeat

Marcus McGhee (11-2) believes his loss to Petr Yan has cost him more than just a defeat — he says the UFC has deliberately held him back from meaningful matchups ever since. The bantamweight, who went unbeaten in his first four UFC outings, fell to Yan via unanimous decision last year in the biggest fight of his career. Yan subsequently captured the bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili.

“Seems like it hindered me,” McGhee told Full Send MMA ahead of his return at UFC 332 on 3 October. “I just think that the UFC decides who they want to fight and who they don’t want to fight. There’s plenty of guys that are available, but they make their matchups for whatever reason they make their matchups. But I do feel like they have been pushing me back since [the Petr Yan] fight. So, I’m gonna keep doing my job, keep showing up, keep winning these fights.”

McGhee pointed to the positioning of fellow bantamweight Payton Talbott, who is co-headlining UFC 332 on the same card, and Raoni Barcelos, who headlined UFC Vegas 121, as evidence that ranked opponents are available and active — just not being matched against him.

Since the Yan loss, McGhee has returned to the win column only once, defeating unranked John Yannis (now 1-2 in the UFC) in June. He acknowledges that his upcoming bout against Bernardo Sopai (13-3) at UFC 332 was accepted primarily to stay active rather than as a step toward a ranked opponent.

McGhee stopped short of accusing the promotion of bad faith, but his frustration with the matchmaking process is clear. He remains confident that continued winning will eventually force the UFC’s hand, even if the path back toward contention has been slower than he expected following a loss to a fighter who proved himself a world champion.