Neil Magny won’t be among the list of UFC names soon to enter free agency, as he’s signed a new contract following his big win over Hector Lombard.
At some point within the past few days, Neil Magny’s onslaught of strikes on an exhausted and badly hurt Hector Lombard finally prompted Steve Perceval to stop the UFC Brisbane co-main event. Everyone else had gone home, including the timekeepers, but this fight somehow kept on rolling as Magny pummeled Lombard until the referee deemed it fit to stop the massacre.
Obviously, this is a slight exaggeration on my part, but the point remains that Magny picked up a huge win and continues to rise up the UFC welterweight ranks. Instead of riding out his contract and testing the free agent market, as is the rising trend among MMA fighters, Magny has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported the news on Friday.
Magny (18-4) started his post-TUF 16 career by losing 2 of his first 3 UFC bouts, including a quick submission defeat to Sergio Moraes in August 2013. Since the start of 2014, the 27-year-old has won an astonishing 10 of his last 11 fights, with his lone defeat coming against Demian Maia at UFC 190. Last November, Magny went into Mexico on short notice and defeated Kelvin Gastelum by split decision in the TUF Latin America 2 Finale main event. Prior to that, he defeated Erick Silva on short notice just three weeks after the Maia loss.
Of course, it’s worth noting that this is a four-fight contract for someone who fought 5 times in 2014 and 2015, but for the time being, the #7 ranked UFC welterweight is not going to be voluntarily entering free agency. He doesn’t have his next fight booked yet, as he plans to take a month off from sparring.