The UFC is in the process of finalising a bout between Neil Magny and Geoff Neal in the welterweight division. The bout is expected to take place in May on the UFC Fight Night card headlined by Cory Sandhagen vs TJ Dillashaw. Sources confirmed to ESPN.
Both fighters were initially set to face off back in August, however, Neal was forced to withdraw 20 days out from the bout due to health issues that required him to stay in hospital. Neil Magny instead faced former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler whom he defeated in a dominant unanimous decision win.
Neil Magny
Neil Magny (24-8) was last seen in action against Michael Chiesa, to whom he lost to by unanimous decision back in January. The loss saw Magny lose his 3 fight winning streak dating back to March 2020 which saw him defeat the likes of Li Jingliang, Anthony Rocco Martin and the aforementioned Robbie Lawler.
Magny is a UFC veteran with 24 fights with the premier promotion dating back to 2013. An active competitor, Magny fought in 13 fights from 2013 to 2015. The longest layoff he had was between 2018 and 2020 when he suffered a KO loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio and took a year and a half break from the sport.
Currently ranked no.9 in the UFC rankings, Neil Magny is hoping to rebound from his January setback and win in dominant fashion to show the rest of the division that he still has title aspirations.
Geoff Neal
Coming off a loss himself, Geoff Neal (13-3) will be eager to get back into the win column after suffering a dominant unanimous decision loss to Stephen Thompson back in December. The loss was his first in the UFC which snapped a 7 fight winning streak dating back to July 2017.
Prior to the loss, Neal was seen as one of the more dangerous up and coming threat to the division and touted to be a future title challenger after defeating the likes of Belal Muhammad, Niko Price and Mike Perry. The latter two whom he defeated by TKO.
Currently ranked no.11 in the UFC rankings, like Magny, Neal will be looking to bounce back from the loss in an impressive fashion to remind everyone why “Handz of Steel” had so much hype behind him and to show that he is the real deal. He faces what may be one of his toughest tests to date against Magny, a top 10 opponent with a lot of experience.
UFC Fight Night on May 8th lineup includes:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
- Donald Cerrone vs. Diego Sanchez
- Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit
- Julianna Pena vs. opponent TBA
- Maurice Greene vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Christian Aguilera vs. Carlston Harris
- Francisco Figueredo vs. Jimmy Flick
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Taila Santos
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jun Yong Park
- Damir Hadzovic vs. Nikolas Motta
- Philipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell
- Angela Hill vs. Amanda Ribas
- Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal
Featured Image
Embed from Getty Images
