Neil Magny is shooting for the stars.
Magny took on Craig White in the co-main event of UFC Liverpool yesterday (May 27). White stepped in as a late replacement opponent. Magny earned a first-round TKO after landing a knee to the face.
The win improved Magny’s professional mixed martial arts record to 21-6. He has now been victorious in his last two outings. After defeating White, Magny issued a challenge to fifth ranked lightweight Kamaru Usman.
Usman doesn’t seem thrilled with the idea:
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) May 27, 2018
During the UFC Liverpool post-fight press conference, Magny explained the call out (via MMAJunkie.com):
“He’s proved himself to be a great fighter so far. He’s got a lot accomplished in the division right now. He’s in the top five now, so it makes sense for me to want to call out a guy who’s actually proven himself time and time again rather than someone else. So if it ends of coming through, I’ll take the fight. If not, we’ll see what happens.”
Usman is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia. With the win, Usman now puts himself at the top of the heap in the welterweight division. As for Magny, he finds himself at the ninth spot and will likely have to take on someone closer to his rank.
There is still bad blood between Magny and Jorge Masvidal. “Gamebred” claimed that Magny was ducking him. Masvidal offered to fight him at UFC Liverpool at a 180-pound catchweight. Magny called Masvidal a slob and said the bout was never offered. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC books that match-up next.
There’s also the possibility of re-booking Gunnar Nelson vs. Magny. A time frame for Nelson’s return has not been decided. With Magny being seemingly unscathed from his bout with White, he may not want to wait much longer to return to the Octagon.
Is there any chance Neil Magny gets a bout with Kamaru Usman next?
