Getty Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington & Kamaru Usman
No. 9 ranked UFC welterweight Neil Magny is on a mission for gold and he will take a meaningful step toward his dream should he defeat No. 8 ranked Michael Chiesa on Wednesday. Magny and Chiesa are scheduled as the main event match for UFC Fight Island 8 on January 20 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Magny, 33, will enter the Octagon riding the momentum of a three-fight win streak that he earned last year, defeating Li Jingliang, Anthony Rocco Martin and former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler, all by unanimous decision. Chiesa, 33, has also accumulated a three-fight win streak since moving up to welterweight in 2018, defeating former UFC interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit, Ultimate Fighter 1 champion Diego Sanchez and former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
The UFC’s 170-pound weight class is one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion, and the top five is filled with stars, including Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington and champ Kamaru Usman. A victory at UFC Fight Island 8 will firmly place either Magny or Chiesa closer to the top five and the loser will have a much steeper climb to get to the top.
Heavy recently spoke with Magny about his bout with Chiesa:
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Magny Is Not Taking Chiesa Lightly, Hopes a Victory Will Further Prove His Standing Among the Division’s Elite
GettyNeil Magny punches Anthony Rocco Martin in their welterweight bout during the UFC 250 event at UFC APEX on June 06, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chiesa (17-4) has asserted himself into the welterweight division since moving up from lightweight and Magny (24-7) has been impressed so far with “Maverick.” Leaving no stone unturned, Magny knows a victory over Chiesa will further his claim for a top-five matchup and a potential welterweight title showdown by the end of the year.
“He has three wins at welterweight, so I respect him as an opponent,” Magny said. “But I feel like this is the kind of fight that brings out the best in me. It forces you to rise to the occasion. If it was a guy I knew I could beat or a guy that was easy to overlook, then I would tend to do that and kind of look past him a bit. But I know that’s not the case with Chiesa. I know what he brings, a lot of different skillsets to the table.”
“At the end of the day, this could be a fight that allows me to shine and really show what I’m capable of and add to my resume as far as why I should fight for a title before the years up,” Magny said.
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Magny Is Ready to Knock on the Top-5’s Door
There are few fighters ranked ahead of Magny and Chiesa in the lightweight division and they are both in the position to earn a shot at the top-five with a win on Wednesday. Heavy asked Magny where he thinks he a victory will take him at 170 pounds.
Although he’s at No. 9, Magny believes he may leapfrog No. 7 ranked Demian Maia and No. 6 ranked Tyron Woodley. Maia is 43 years old and is coming off a first-round TKO loss to No. 2 ranked Gilbert Burns in March. Woodley, 38, is currently on a three-fight losing streak, with his most recent coming in September 2020 to No. 1 ranked Colby Covington.
“I definitely think a victory over Chiesa puts me right there knocking on the top-five’s door of the division,” Magny said. “I mean, you’ve got guys like [Tyron] Woodley and Demian Maia who are going to be inactive for a while or have been pretty inactive as far as injuries and things like that. So definitely feel like a victory puts me right in front of those two guys.”
“I’m super eager to get out there and get that done,” Magny said.
Magny Took Advantage of His 16-Month Layoff Before Returning in March 2020
Magny started his three-fight win streak in March 2020, returning to the Octagon after an almost year-and-a-half hiatus. Magny didn’t choose to be away for 16 months. He was flagged by the United States Doping Agency for a potential infraction; however, the drug-testing organization cleared his name of any wrongdoing.
During his absence from the UFC, Magny focused on getting better and healing, preparing to make a run at gold.
“I definitely took advantage of that time off to get better as an athlete,” Magny said. “Being forced to take those 16 months off, I would never have done that under any other conditions.”
Magny told Heavy the forced layoff was a much more fortunate situation than he originally thought it would be.
“I usually just kept busy, trying to get to the next fight as soon as possible, without much time in between,” he continued. “For that unfortunate situation, being out of the cage for 16 months, I would never have taken the time to let my body heal up, focus on getting better and focus on my skillset.”
Chiesa vs. Magny goes down on Wednesday, January 20, via ESPN and ESPN+.
To read Heavy’s interview with Chiesa, tap the “Read Next” link below:
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