There is something about the “Mr. International” tag that Neil Magny finds suitable.
The surging welterweight has been on absolute fire over the past two years, finding victory in all but one of his 10 showings inside the octagon. In addition to an activity level that even Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone could be proud of, the 28-year-old New York native has shown an impressive evolution to his skill set.
Where Magny was once a single-minded fighter with a wrestling-heavy approach, the current version of the Team Elevation standout barely resembles the competitor he was coming off “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nelson vs. Team Carwin.” Magny’s rise has been the product of consistent hard work and the willingness to step up and capitalize on opportunities as they present themselves, and he’s rolled those particular dice every chance he’s had.
“Staying as active as I have has definitely done good things for me,” Magny said. “I feel like I’ve learned something I’ve needed to learn from every one of those fights. Even the fight I lost against Demian Maia taught me things I needed to know, as did my most recent fight with Kelvin Gastelum.
“I’m at the point in my career where I’m going to start getting those bigger names and the higher profile fights I want. I feel like the fights I’ve had up to this point did a good job of getting me comfortable inside the Octagon and helped me prepare myself for the bigger challenges to come. Now I’m fighting the top-ranked guys and that’s what I’m going to need in order to get to that title.”
While Magny has faced a handful of fighters from the deeper waters of his division, his next opponent will be perhaps his toughest test to date. Slated to face Cuban-born powerhouse Hector Lombard this weekend at UFC Fight Night Brisbane, Magny is in a matchup that has the potential to either catapult or significantly cool his run toward title contention.
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