LAS VEGAS — It can be tough to be a UFC fighter during the holidays – especially when you have the cooking chops of Marcus "The Maniac" McGhee.
Marcus has been preparing meals all his life, and recently his highly entertaining cooking series, Munchies with Marcus, has gone viral on social media. His next UFC fight is set for Jan. 13, when he takes on Gaston Bolanos in a highly anticipated bantamweight matchup in Las Vegas.
The Phoenix, AZ product is excited to improve to 3-0 under the UFC banner with a third straight stoppage victory in the Octagon. But sadly the proximity of the holidays to Marcus’ bout means he won’t be going too crazy in the kitchen this holiday season – and fans won’t be getting a Christmas episode.
“I was going to do an episode, but I’ve just been so focused on this fight that I haven’t been able to get one done,” Marcus says. “I’ll still be preparing food for the family – I’ll be throwing down some mac and cheese – but it’s definitely not as crazy as it should be.”
Marcus began cooking as a youngster. First under the watchful eye of his mother, and then his grandmother.
“My grandma was very adamant about making sure that I was totally self-reliant,” he says. “She used to say that I need to learn to do everything that a woman would do for me, so I don’t need a woman.”
Marcus is now a married family man himself. He cooks with pride for his family, and preaches those same lessons of self reliance to his four children.
Marcus started making cooking videos earlier this year as a way to have some fun and bring some interesting content to his followers on social media. The feedback has been amazing, the MMA Lab fighter says, so he’s excited to invest more time and energy into his show in 2024 – “Season 2,” he calls it.
“It’s exciting; I’ve really enjoyed it a lot,” he says.
“I really wanted to do something that would let me interact with fans in a fun and unique way. I knew that this was something that I would enjoy, and also get some great food (laughs).
“We’ll see where it all goes.”
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