By the time Marcus McGhee discovered mixed martial arts, he had already been fighting for years. The fighting he had come to know was out of anger, frustration and some nagging need to prove to others he was tough and strong and not someone who was willing to back down from confrontation.
The fighting he discovered, inside a mixed martial arts gym in 2012, allowed him to put his energy into something constructive rather than something destructive. And it helped him figure out that his true strength would be his ability to control his response.
“I think that’s what drew me to it even more,” McGhee said. “It started changing me as a person. It was humbling me and helping me figure out what was truly important. It was super surprising to me.”
From the moment he tasted fighting as a discipline rather than a survival tactic, McGhee was committed. Although he is known as the MMA’s Marcus “The Maniac” McGhee now, it took time and trials and grit and resilience to hone his unique fighting style, to learn the sport, to understand how to leverage his physical strengths and to develop a mental philosophy that is arguably unlike that of any other fighter.
Afterall, a nickname like Marcus “Maniac” McGhee may conjure certain assumptions from anyone who doesn’t understand his approach. It may suggest a wreckless, wild and possibly dangerous style — but McGhee brings the polar opposite to the mat.
And it begins with intentionally creating a mindful headspace before every match.
“I just let go,” he said. “I know I’m going into it with pure heart and not real malice. I know I can do whatever I need to do in there and I’m doing it out of love for everything I hold dear. I think that really gives me a chance.”
He enters every match with a sense of empathy, praying for himself and his opponent before stepping foot onto the mat, knowing it gives him the space to view the challenge ahead of him as something he needs to overcome rather than someone he needs to destroy. And then he transforms from Marcus McGhee to Marcus “The Maniac” McGhee.
“I try to pray for people because it’s only 15 minutes of your life and I don’t want it to affect someone’s whole life in a terrible way. I still want to knock my opponent out. I do. But I want him to be healthy, feel love, be appreciated and live a good life,” McGhee said.
And as a man who grew up without a father present, McGhee is acutely aware of the influence his actions and reactions have on the four children he shares with his wife. It’s why he has worked so hard to recognize that defeat is part of the process and challenges inspire lasting gratitude.
“I am grateful that I get to do this,” he said. “I do want the results, but those aren’t the driving factors. I was the story behind it, just for me to know I endured. That I’m going to go for it. That I stepped up to the plate and was there for my moment.”