Neil Magny: Keep The Fights Coming

"I mean, when the day comes by when I'm sitting on the couch and no one's calling my name out to fight, no one's asking for photos, autographs when I'm out in public, that'll not be a sad day, but it'll be a very different side of my life.

"So, right now, if I'm getting called out by every fighter there is, more power to it. I embrace it completely."

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It's probably for that reason that he wasn't at all surprised when the latest bout agreement that crossed his desk contained the name of another dangerous 170-pounder looking to fly up the welterweight ranks.

Magny will face undefeated Michael Morales this weekend in a bout that will prove to be a stern test for both men. For Morales, it's a matchup against a 41-fight veteran who has virtually seen it all in the UFC welterweight division. For Magny, it's another chance to prove that he deserves a shot against higher-ranked opposition.

Ecuador's Morales has impressed in his four UFC bouts since earning his roster spot through Dana White's Contender Series in 2021. TKO finishes of Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt got his UFC career off to a flying start, while unanimous decision victories over Octagon veterans Max Griffin and Jake Matthews showed that he can hang with fighters with more top-level experience. It's a resume that Magny admits he's been impressed with.

"Yeah, he's definitely a great fighter," he admitted.

"I mean, his record speaks for itself. You don't get to be 16-0 in MMA by being some slouch and you don't go 4-0 in the UFC by being a slouch, either.

"He's faced pretty tough opponents in UFC thus far. Even some guys that I fought – he fought Max Griffin, (who) I fought to a split decision – so that definitely shows his durability, shows his skill set, going into his fight. He's definitely not a guy who I'm taking lightly at all. But, at the end of the day, I'm pretty confident in myself that I'll get it done on Saturday."

When you look at the matchup on paper – young gun versus seasoned veteran – you'd be forgiven for thinking that experience could play a factor on fight night. But Magny said that, despite having more than double the fights of his opponent, his experience likely won't count for much when the Octagon door closes on fight night.

"Um, minimal, I have to be honest with you!" he laughed.

"I feel like even the experience part can be a gift and a curse. I got an opportunity to go out there and face the best of the best over the last 12 years and fight under the UFC banner, but it always all boils down to, what have I done lately, and the Ian Garry fight really exposed that for me.

"Prior to the Garry fight, I took plenty of short notice fights. I made a career out of short-notice fights. I kind of thought it'd be the same thing going into the Ian Garry fight, but I realized that my life is a lot different than what it was back then. 

"Being 25, 28, 29, I was just a young man at the gym getting told, 'Hey, man, you've been here for six hours. Get out, go do something else!' Now, being a father of two, being a business owner, being everything else like that, the time that I get to the gym is not necessarily more scarce, but it's a lot more difficult to balance my life and be able to prioritize going to the gym outside of training camp.

"So, taking these short notice fights and that kind of thing is just not as applicable as it was at one point in my career. My preparation for these fights actually does require a training camp for me to go through and really mold myself into the fighter I know I can be on fight night."

He may be playing down the role his experience could potentially play on fight night, but there's no denying what Magny has achieved through his 14-year professional MMA career.

His fight with Morales will be his 33rd fight under the UFC banner, which will put him alongside the likes of Demian Maia and Charles Oliveira in equal seventh place on the all-time appearances list. 

And a win for Magny would put him in a tie for second place on the UFC's all-time wins list, with 23, alongside Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Andrei Arlovski, and just three wins behind all-time wins leader Jim Miller at 26.

"If you were to ask someone UFC 15 years ago, 'Do you see Jim Miller being in the UFC and having 26 wins?' most people would say, 'God, that's insane. There's no way. This sport's way too brutal. There's way too much damage. That is something that that just can't happen,' he suggested.

"So, being in a position now where I'm just a couple of wins shy of catching up to Jim Miller and even carrying that torch further – it's just cool to see the evolution of MMA, seeing how much further the sport has gotten, with all the sport science behind it, and how much it has grown throughout the  years. So, to be a part of the history, so to speak, of MMA and being able to set any kind of records, I'm definitely appreciative."

He's pleased to be in the mix for these sorts of records, but Magny's focus is on climbing the welterweight rankings, and that means turning back the challenge of Morales this weekend. 

It's a similar assignment to his last outing, where he defeated rising Canadian star Mike Malott. Magny's plan is to deliver a repeat of that impressive performance and put himself in the frame for a big fight against ranked opposition later this year.

"For me, going against Mike Morales is kind of the same game plan," he explained.

"We just go out there, make a statement, put a stamp on it, show that I'm deserving to fight a top-ranked opponent and keep moving forward.

"I had a huge win against Mike Malott in Canada a couple months ago. And, for me, (the plan is) just carrying that momentum forward and going out there to make a statement on Saturday night."