MMA's "The Prodigal Son" is Kennett's

KENNETT, Mo. - When a fighting champion is dubbed, “The Prodigal Son,” celebrate his return.

But don't turn your back on him in the cage.

Carlos “The Prodigal Son” McGee, 29, of Kennett, has a 7-3 record in amateur MMA fights, is ranked No. 1 of 44 fighters in Mississippi, No. 12 of 164 in Missouri and Kansas, No. 35 of 704 active combatants in the Midwest, 42 of 747 in the Southeast, has won three bouts in first-round TKOs and another three in second-round TKOs.

McGee, a quiet, Zen sort, entered into the sport after a Portageville High School athletic career that included football, basketball a bit of baseball and later, a hitch in the US Army.

Kennett's Carlos "The Prodigal Son" McGee takes out an opponent at a Mixed Martial Arts bout.Photo by Gemini Snow MMA Photography

“I wasn't what you'd call 'a scrapper' growing up,” McGee said Tuesday. “I was a good kid.

“My grandma Maude Conrad worked as a cook at the elementary school,” he continued, grinning a sly, knowing smile. “Every teacher in our school knew, if I got in trouble, go get Miss Maude. 'I'm gonna call your grandma,' they'd say. And, it was never beautiful.”

Miss Maude, forever the loving grandmother, was all business when it came to her grandson's social behavior. After some elementary-school clowning on McGee's part, Miss Maude proved it with the dreaded high-school paddle.

“She wore me out in the office,” McGee laughed. “Ever since, I never got in trouble at school. I never got into a fight.”

As a younger man, McGee bounced from job to job and searched for his place in life.

That work included agriculture production services and the US Army stateside service at Fort Leonard Wood.

“Yeah, the military,” McGee lamented. “That wasn't fun.

“I did a split-op training with them,” he continued. “I went for basic training the summer of my junior year, graduated and went in. I just kinda called it quits on that one. I stayed for five or six years. The Army provided me with a good foundation. Structure. But I could tell it wasn't what I was looking for long-term.”

Fast forward to 2017, where we discover McGee's MMA revelations and his relocation to Florida.

“I guess you could say I fell in love with the sport,” McGee said. “I joined an MMA gym called Five Rounds Presenting Jiu Jitsu and started working out with those guys.”

Carlos McGee in training at the Gracie's gym.Photo provided

Maybe the Carlson Gracie gym? Those Gracies? The MMA family known for dislocating their foes' joints in the ring?

“I didn't know what MMA really was,” McGee mused. “The coach there was Brazilian.

“He didn't speak English very well,” he continued. “But he got the job done. Any violent act you can think of, he was really good at it. Really amazing. And I was 23 at the time.”

After some training, Carlos “The Prodigal Son” McGee returned home.

McGee was US Army fit and had trained about a year before he came back to Missouri.

“I will tell you, being in military shape and being in MMA shape are two totally different things all the way around the board,” McGee said. “Military shape is being physically fit and able to run, carry your weight and the weight of a battle buddy.

“MMA, you must legitimately train every inch of every part of your body,” he continued. “From the tips of your fingers to the bottom of your feet. If you're not physically fit in every way - cardio-wise, strength and conditioning, if you're not mentally prepared – MMA definitely will be a challenge. And, it will break you.”

It wasn't long after McGee's return to the Show-Me State before a fight appeared.

“I got offered a fight as soon as I got back,” he said. “Randomly.

“Nobody here really knew I trained,” the fighter added. “It was my first move TO Kennett. So I wasn't really familiar with the area. A promoter called and said 'We've got some fights going on in your town. Are you down?' Sure thing. And I just started fighting from there.”

Those contests are not boxing matches. They aren't wrestling contests.

They can be radiant, gladiator-esque matches.

And ultimately destructive.

“A lot of people think, 'I can get in there,'” McGee said. “'I can fight this guy in the cage.'

Kennett's Carlos "The Prodigal Son" McGee throws a punch in training.Photo by Sun Bear Photography

“What they don't realize is if they're fighting three-minute rounds or five-minute rounds, that is a LIFETIME in a cage,” the fighter explained. “It is THE most brutal experience I've ever had. And it's also the most humbling in a way. It teaches you different values. It shows you how far you're willing to push yourself to achieve a goal. It's hard to explain it. But believe me, you feel it in the moment.”

That first fight? Learning experience, McGee noted.

“It was NOT what I expected,” McGee said. “It was more or less, shaking the nerves out.

“I fought a guy named Cody Roberts,” he continued. “I was supposed to be fighting in the light-heavyweight division, which is a 205 weight limit.

“My guy pulled out at the last minute,” he continued. “They asked me if I'd fight anybody who had a missing fight. I was like, 'Yeah, sure. I'll take it.'”

And, the random fighter on tap was not a light heavyweight.

“He was like, 260 pounds,” McGee said. “I thought, 'Lord, what did I just get myself into?'

“'What did I just do?'” he pleaded. “Is this fixing to be fun or am I fixing to be mangled by this behemoth of a man?”

Good question.

“I had to stop because I know I had this puzzled look on my face,” McGee grinned. “I'm like, 'Man, you realize I'm like a buck 85, maybe 200 pounds soaking wet right now?'

“They were like, 'Good,'” he explained. “'Put your hoodie on. Put your boots back on. Let's get you some quarters in your pockets.' They gave me three rolls of quarters and stuck those in my pocket. They had a title belt they were awarding that night. They put it on me under my hoodie and latched it. They put about 10 medals on me. After doing all that, I stepped on the scale and weighed in at 210.6. Barely made it. So after all that, I made weight to fight this guy.”

And so it began.

“It definitely was a life-changing experience,” McGee said. “We squared off.

“We touched gloves,” he added. “We threw a couple punches. That's when I found out I had THE ugliest punches I've ever seen in my life.”

A quick but notable style critique?

Kennett's Carlos "The Prodigal Son" McGee throws a kick in training. Photo provided

“In my head it looked great,” McGee noted. “I'm throwing all these kicks.

“I'm throwing all these punches,” the fighter continued. “It looks amazing. In my head, I'm really putting it on this guy.”

IRL?

“I go back and review the fight and I'm like, 'Dude. Your punches are all wing,'” McGee explained. “'Your kicks just look weird.'

“Oh, help me Lord,” he laughed at the memories flooding in. “But I won. We wrestled around and got up. The guy walked in at me and I threw a straight right punch, then followed up with a left high-kick that landed. I threw a kick to the body and I think that did the most damage. A liver shot. It kinda folded him over enough to give me an opening to finish the match.”

Was that a shock to a 260-plus pound human meat grinder?

“He was not expecting li'l-ol-me to throw my leg up to there and, 'Hey Hey Hey' here it is,” McGee said. “I knocked the guy out 1:27 into the first round.”

McGee describes himself as “a super competitive person” who commits once he's found a niche.

His niche is destroying opponents in the cage.

“I don't stop until I get it done,” McGee said. “And one thing I DO NOT LIKE ... I will tell you I'm not a fan of getting punched in the face.

“I will NOT lie to you,” he laughed. “That's my biggest thing in MMA fighting. You can kick me in my legs. You can take my body from me. Do NOT punch me in my face. My nose especially. I will come after you hard and unrelenting if you hit me in my nose. I WILL END the fight.”

From left, Mixed Martial Arts fighters Willie McLaughlin, Kennett's Carlos McGee, Dillon Winemiller and well-known fighter and trainer Burge Franks at a cage match.Photo by Gemini Snow MMA Photography.

One of McGee's trainers is bad-to-the-bone, bareknuckle-fighter Dillon Winemiller.

“He's an animal,” McGee said. “They call him 'The Dog.'

“I've seen him dismantle man after man after man,” he continued. “When I say he's a tank, Dylan is probably every bit of 6'2”, 6'3”, 205. He's not human in my view. He was a power lifter before he started fighting.”

So, training with a bare-knuckles brawler came with a learning curve, McGee said.

So to speak.

“Honestly, when I first met him, I thought, 'This dude is gonna destroy me,” McGee said. “He's gonna beat me up every time I get in here and try to learn anything from him.'

“Now, after just being under him for so long, it's kinda developed into a family relationship,” he added. “With him being a boxer with an MMA background, he likes to stand in and box more than others. So we concentrate on striking and the stand-up aspect of MMA. A lot of kick-boxing and boxing combinations. He's really good at Jiu Jitsu. He's a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So he kind of tightens up every end. He's my go-to guy.”

McGee trains also with MMA's T.J. Sestan.

“He's one of those guys who's gonna rattle your cage and get you worked up,” McGee said.

“He's gonna get you fired up.

“Between training with him and Dillon, I don't think there's anything I've missed out on at this point in my MMA career,” he mused. “Any kind of stand-up fight, I'm prepared. I don't really go to ground game unless I absolutely have no choice.”

All that training and planning has served McGee well.

Kennett's Carlos "The Prodigal Son" McGee and one of a number of title belts he earned in MMA championships.Photo provided.

“From 2017 until now I've held four different titles in three different weight classes,” he said. “I've held The Cage of Honor title out of Cape Girardeau.

“I've held the 185-pound title, the 175 pound title and the 205 title,” he continued. “I've held the Full Contact Fighting Championship, 170-pound title from Southaven, Mississippi. And, Missouri's American Fighter Championship. I've held the 185 and 205 title.”

And while adoring fans are a huge ancillary part of sports figures personas, McGee's family both supports his dreams and fears for his safety.

“You do NOT put my mom and my grandma in the same place at one of my fights,” McGee noted. He continues this knowing, smile, this positive facial-affect. “One of two things are gonna happen.

“Either they're gonna be screaming the whole fight,” he added. “Or I'm gonna be sitting in the corner of the cage while they double team whoever the poor guy is who I'm fighting. And it's not gonna turn out well for that guy.”

So, given the danger and the possibilities of impending doom, why step into a sealed cage with an opponent whose primary goal is facilitating unconsciousness?

“I do it because I love to fight,” McGee said. “It's something I believe is a gift from God.”

Hence, The Prodigal Son moniker.

“I like to say I'm well-known,” he grinned. “I've trained and traveled all over California, out west.

Kennett's Carlos "The Prodigal Son" McGee on the mic at an MMA fight.Photo provided.

“I've been east in Florida training,” he added. “And of course in the Midwest.”

All that traveling and training comes with its own perks beyond the cage.

“I've met a lot of good people,” McGee said. “I've got the recognition.

I've got sponsors and people behind me,” he added. “Now we're putting together the last pieces to make that good run.”

Well done, Carlos McGee.

Well done, sir.

I Met Heavyweight champ Carlos MCgee at the Airport (youtube.com)

Carlos McGee ("The Prodigal Son") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology