TORONTO – Neil Magny’s return to the octagon, this past Saturday, seemed to many like the inevitable course most veterans go through in MMA.
The 36-year-old veteran was matchup against a younger Mike Malott. Their fight took place on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 297, and it was in Malott’s home country of Canada. It seemed like a set-up opportunity for Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to shine and take his career to the next level.
And that’s what it looked like for the first 12 minutes of the 15-minute. Malott dominated Magny (28-11 MMA, 21-10 UFC) and was en route to a clear win. However, in the final minutes, Magny stepped on the gas and overwhelmed Malott to get an incredible comeback TKO win.
“Tonight was a great win, a great victory,” Magny told the media backstage at UFC 297. “I’m not completely satisfied with what I accomplished just yet. I still have more hunger in me, I still have more in the tank to accomplish more. I’m definitely content with tonight’s victory, but I have a lot more that I’m capable of and that I’m able to show. On Monday, I’m right back to the drawing board and continue to move forward.”
Magny was coming off a dominant loss to highly touted undefeated contender Ian Garry in August. Although that wasn’t his night, Magny thinks the win over Malott proved he’s game to compete with anyone in the UFC’s welterweight division.
“At the end of the day, I’ve beat the who’s-who in MMA, but the sport of MMA is very unforgiving,” Magny said. “It’s more so ‘what have you done for me lately?’ Sure, I beat the Carlos Condits, the Johny Hendricks, the Robbie Lawlers of the sport – but the sport of MMA has a very short memory.
“So to go out there and get a finish on a young up-and-coming guy who was undefeated in the UFC prior to tonight, I feel like it was a great statement. I feel like I’m still able to hang with the best of them – young guys, old guys, whoever. I feel like I went out there and did what I was supposed to do.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
