Neil Magny has his next fight lined up and it’s going to be a challenge.
Magny is slated to travel across the pond to meet Gunnar Nelson in a welterweight bout at the upcoming UFC Liverpool event.
This bout will serve as the co-main event while Darren Till vs. Donald Cerrone (also in a welterweight bout) will headline this event.
Magny is looking to gain some more momentum after picking up a win over former title contender Carlos Condit back in December at UFC 219.
On the flip side, Nelson has not been seen in the Octagon since he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 113 event in Scotland last July.
Magny stated in a recent interview to promote this upcoming fight that he understands that he needs to make a statement in this bout in order to keep his status as one of the best fighters in the welterweight division.
“I know there’s a big question mark if I can hang with elite grapplers in the game because of my submission losses,” Magny said to MMAJunkie. “I have six losses, and … four of them are by submission. Going into this fight, it’s a great opportunity for me to go out and show my ground game has improved and I’m a lot better than in past fights when it comes to the submission game. Gunnar does have the majority of his wins by submission, and that’s what excites me about this fight. It’s a big test for me, and it’s going to force me to rise to the occasion.”
“When I look at the past year, I didn’t shake up the division as much as I’d like to,” Magny said. “I spent nine months on the shelf after an injury and came back and went 1-1 at the end of the year. I can’t be too upset. All I can do is use it as motivation going into this fight with Gunnar Nelson.”
UFC Liverpool is set to take place on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at while the preliminary card will be split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
“I want to have a fight with Gunnar Nelson to the point everyone is talking about it. That’s the kind of performance I’m going after, and everything that surrounds this fight is motivation for that. I don’t necessarily just want to win, I want to win impressively to the point where people want to see Neil Magny fight a big name next.”
What are your thoughts on Magny’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
