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It's more like a tactical assault than a regular practice.
For 35 minutes, pads take a pummeling at the hands, feet and elbows of Court McGee, whose weaponized body has been honed over 23 official UFC fights and many more bouts of organized violence since he began practicing karate at age 7.
Rob Handley is his coach, and the man brave enough to hold the pads as McGee strikes them over and over with a resounding smack, Handley egging him on with grunts akin to the sound of a snarling dog.
"Man, I feel that in my spine," Handley murmurs after absorbing a particularly spirited knee strike.
McGee, 31, an Ogden native who wrestled at Layton High School, is on a winding road that led him to be the lone Utahn on the card for UFC's Fight Night 92 this Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, the organization's first event in the state.
Nine years after his professional MMA career took off with a loss to Jeremy Horn in the same building, McGee will walk out to a crowd of supporters from down the road.
"I got the call, they said: 'Hey, we're coming to Salt Lake City. What do you think?' And I'm like, 'Get me on the damn card, man,' " McGee said after finishing his daily training.
Days away from his welterweight fight against Dominique Steele, McGee recalled his Dec. 1, 2007, battle with Horn as one he was reluctant to accept when first offered. Horn had accrued a serious fighter's reputation, going toe-to-toe with UFC legends Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Anderson Silva, but McGee eventually signed up.
"You've beaten his top students, you beat all the top guys in Utah, you're undefeated, what do you have to lose?" McGee said.
The loss to Horn was an eye-opening experience, as McGee remembers taking a cautious approach to compete with someone of Horn's stature rather than going all-out to win, something he channels to this day in a "simplified" mental approach to his next fight.
"I learned a valuable lesson not to cut it short, not to doubt myself," McGee said. "To trust in my training, trust in my coaching, trust in my teammates and trust in what I'm doing."
Handley describes cardio and stamina as McGee's best attributes heading into Saturday's fight, but his ability to conquer adversity can't be far behind.
Drug addiction and alcohol abuse nearly derailed his career, and a two-year layoff from a serious wrist injury from 2013 to 2015 — a time in which he says he couldn't even muster the strength to pick up a water bottle — forced him to contemplate retirement.
Handley said he's excited to see what McGee, now sober for over a decade and fully recovered from injury, can do in front of the home crowd to rebound from an April loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio.
"He's got such an awesome story behind him and he's such a powerful human being," Handley said. "I'm super-happy for him."
McGee (18-5) describes Steele (14-7) as a "wrestler, brawler and all-go guy," shaping the Utahn's training to focus on lateral movement, countering strikes and finishing his shot when there's an opening.
"I'm going to make it nasty, I'm going to make it hard on him, and that's just the mindset I have to have," McGee said. "I've got to be vicious, and I'm going to be vicious when I walk in there."
Handley is projecting a win for his student, whose humble attitude is a driving force inside and out of the cage.
For example, McGee still pays himself the same monthly wage he made as a plumber before his switch to professional fighting, estimated at just over $2,700 a month.
Even after the endorsements, fight purses, bonuses and the rush that a roaring crowd can bring, McGee's perspective is one of a man fighting to feed his family, trying to inspire others maintaining their sobriety and relishing the moment he'll step into the octagon in front of his loved ones.
"I have an advantage because I have my family, I have my supporters all here," McGee said. "I think that's going to give me a little extra motivation, a little extra oomph when I walk out and I hear those people cheering."
Twitter: @BrennanJSmith —
About Court McGee
• Ogden native wrestled at Layton High School.
• Was season 11 winner of the UFC reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter.
• 18-5 overall in his MMA career; facing Dominique Steele (14-7) at UFC Fight Night 92 this Saturday.
• Suffered a first-round loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in his last fight (April 16).
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UFC Fight Night 92
When • Saturday; prelims at 6 p.m., main card at 8 p.m.
Where • Vivint Smart Home Arena
Tickets • $50-$150; Smith's Tix
TV • FS1
Main event • Yair Rodriguez (8-1-0) vs. Alex Caceres (12-8-0, 1 NC)