Neil Magny feels confident ahead of his return to the Octagon on November 9.
The ‘Haitian Sensation’ will look to climb back into the win column following a first-round TKO loss against Michael Morales in his last outing. Standing in his way will be streaking Brazilian standout Carlos Prates who enters the bout having won 12 straight, including a 3-0 run inside the Octagon.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Magny offered some insight into his opponent’s skill set and how he matches up against the man they call ‘The Nightmare.’
“I feel great. This matchup came about on short notice, but I had about five weeks or so to prepare for this fight,” Magny said. “I think I’m matched up well against him. He’s a great striker. He’s undefeated in the UFC and he’s been making waves in the UFC. He’s been finishing all of his opponents thus far so it’s a very exciting matchup for me. He’s a skilled striker from the southpaw position so I know that’s something I’ll have to work on as well, but he’s also decent at grappling too.
“I’ve seen plenty of videos of him training in grappling and that kind of thing so I’m excited to go out there and test myself against another young upcoming competitor in the UFC.”
While Magny goes into the Fight Night headliner already having some five-round experience, it will be Prates’ first time competing in a mixed martial arts bout with 25 minutes on the clock. Asked whether or not that will play a factor in the fight, Magny said:
“When it comes to training, I try to get the job done round after round. I never go to the gym and tell myself that I’m going to do five rounds today for the sake of doing five rounds. The goal is always to go in there and get the job done round and round. In the event that I have a training partner and I have to go five rounds so be it, but I never plan on it like, let’s draw this thing out as long as I can and see what happens.
“The goal is to go out there, get the job done, leave unscathed and uninjured, and that kind of thing. So I don’t necessarily plan on ever going the full 25 minutes. It’s more about how soon I can get the job done.”
As for how the 41-fight veteran sees things playing out next month in Las Vegas, Magny is confident that not only will he get the job done, but he’ll do it most impressively.
“I feel like I can go out there and not only win the fight but win the fight in impressive fashion and get a finish,” Magny said. “We’re not taking anything away from Carlos Prates. He’s a very talented fighter. He’s undefeated in the UFC for a reason, but I feel like with where I’m at right now and how things are shaping up in this training camp, I feel like I’m in a great place to go out there and get the job done.”
Neil Magny Sees Belal Muhammad Retaining His Title Against Shavkat Rakhmonov
Just a few short weeks after Neil Magny wraps up his 34th promotional appearance, UFC welterweight world champion Belal Muhammad will put his title on the line for the first time against undefeated sensation Shavkat Rakhmonov.
‘Nomad’ goes into the fight with a perfect 18-0 record and a 100% finish rate. As a result, Rakhmonov is a sizeable -265 favorite to come out on top in their UFC 310 headliner. However, Magny thinks that Muhammad’s gritty style and the ability to force fighters to compete at his pace will allow ‘Remember The Name’ to retain his title and hand Rakhmonov his first career loss.
“So this might be a very unpopular opinion of mine, but I think Belal sneaks by and gets the job done against Shavkat,” Magny said. “Belal is just one of those guys who’s very gritty and has a way of making fighters fight his fight and make them fight at his pace.
“Shavkat is 18-0 and he has finishes in all of his fights. He’s going to be looking to hunt for a finish throughout the fight as well, but I feel like with a guy like Belal, you have to play the long game and prepare yourself. In the event that you can’t finish the fight early on, what does it look like in those later rounds and I think this is a moment for Belal to shine as far as his experience and his ability to be durable and take the fight to the later rounds and actually get it done in rounds four or five.”
Watch the full exclusive interview below:
