Since the calendar flipped to 2014, Neil Magny has competed 11 times in the UFC. That’s a high number.
After five fights per year in 2014 and 2015, his pace slowed in 2016, but in March he came back from literal unconsciousness to defeat Hector Lombard. Magny’s only fight of the year is a favorite for Fight of the Year.
He nabbed a $50,000 bonus for that performance, as well as new notoriety for his prowess, his toughness and his prolific fight production. Now No. 7 in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, Magny is a fighter on the way up.
His sheer output is what really makes it remarkable. In MMA, injuries, drug suspensions and other things can grind fighter activity down to the nub. There’s no specific measuring stick, but at the UFC level, two fights in a year is perfectly reasonable. Three fights is “busy.” Four fights is blistering. Five fights is pretty much Magny and Donald Cerrone.
This isn’t the case of an opportunistic glutton for punishment, either. The 29-year-old Magny (18-4) is winning these bouts. His only loss in those 11 fights came to Demian Maia, who is one win away from a title shot in arguably the UFC’s best division. Magny’s 5-0 record in 2014 tied Roger Huerta for the most UFC wins in a calendar year (Huerta did it in 2007).
Fans have to be wondering what Magny’s secret is. Wonder no more.
As Magny prepared to take on blazing kickboxer Lorenz Larkin Saturday at UFC 202, he spoke to Bleacher Report about what keeps him going—and coming back. There’s no rocket science in the discussion, no magic remedies, just foresight and a little good fortune. Then again, if the formula was so obvious, a lot more UFC fighters would be drawing five paychecks a year.
So what is Magny’s recipe, then? In a nutshell: Don’t try to be a hero. Oh, and bacon. But we’ll get to that.
“Giving Each Other Concussions”
Plenty of fighters talk about listening to their bodies, of heeding physical warning signs before they blossom into something bigger. But practicing that bit of preaching is easier said than done. According to Magny, that’s because of the alpha-male culture endemic at most MMA gyms. What may seem like healthy competition in the moment, he said, has real detriments in the longer term.
“Guys want to be tough in a lot of gyms, you rock me, I rock you back,” Magny said. “Suddenly everyone’s giving each other concussions. In our gym, if I get rocked, tomorrow I have to avoid sparring. It stops there. That’s the end of the session.”
Strong coaching can protect fighters from themselves in the heat of the moment. Magny bends over backward to acknowledge the staff at Elevation Fight Team, the Colorado training headquarters led by head coach Leister Bowling.
“We take care of each other,” Magny said. “You get your bell rung, you sit out. Not only that, but my coaches are really knowledgeable. If I get rocked, tomorrow I have to avoid sparring.”
Elevation’s track record plays out in its growing fighter stable, which includes T.J. Dillashaw and Matt Brown alongside Magny and others. If a safer approach to training compromises toughness—that most vital of MMA skills—Elevation fighters have yet to show it.
“They Take Care of You”
Magny’s current run of success coincides nicely with his move to Elevation. After losing in the semifinals on the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Magny’s coach on the show, Shane Carwin, plugged him in to Elevation. Magny dropped two of his first three official UFC contests back in 2013, then the rest is history.
But it’s more than a safety culture. Elevation is part of the MusclePharm Sports Science Institute, a massive, state-of-the-art training and research complex financed by the nutritional supplement manufacturer. Space-age athletic and health machinery is stuffed in its every nook and cranny, as are doctors, scientists, nutritionists, chiropractors and about anything else a pro athlete could ever want in order to stay healthy.
This is noteworthy not just for its magnitude, but because fighters do not receive comprehensive health insurance from the UFC. They are covered for injuries sustained in fights or during training—and that’s on the lucky end, as fighters outside the UFC are rarely covered in the case of the latter.
“We have a sports network of people who take care of the fighters,” Magny said. “It’s a huge Denver sports network, and if you have a problem, they take care of you.”
Even with such considerable resources at his disposal, responsibility still comes back to the athlete to maintain top form. As with taking precautions in sparring, Magny said he makes a conscious effort to nip any problem in the bud, whether that involves a visit with one of Elevation’s health professionals or simply taking time off when it’s needed.
“When I do get injuries, I don’t try to battle through them or tough it out,” Magny said. “We get them taken care of right away. Whatever we need to do. I’m blessed to have coaches and teammates where we look out for each other and if we’re hurt, we don’t try to be tough, we just take care of it.”
“You Can Get Too Wrapped Up in Eating”
If it takes a village to raise a fighter, individual consciousness is still indispensable.
But you know what? Sometimes, plain old luck doesn’t hurt, either.
Magny works hard in the gym to keep his weight under control, and that’s by design. The careworn MMA mantra—”Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready”—definitely applies. At the same time, one of the most draining physical activities in all of sports—cutting weight—is a relative breeze for Magny.
By his own estimation, Magny walks around at 185 or 190 pounds. Getting down to the 170-pound welterweight limit is a relatively easy proposition for him. Staying ready and a formidable metabolism are a potent combination, and it keeps Magny from having to break too much of a sweat, literally, over hitting the right number on the scale.
“You can get too wrapped up in eating, so that you’re training just to make weight, not training to get better,” Magny said. “I’m more focused on technique, getting into the gym and keeping my weight down.”
He has that privilege because of his relatively easy cut.
“I’ve got it down to a science,” Magny said. “Coming into fight week, I’m 182, 183 [pounds]. Then it’s just cleaning [nutrition] up.”
That’s when it’s time to pull out the true secret weapon.
“I stop having bacon in the morning,” a chuckling-but-serious Magny said of his fight-week weight cut. “And that’s it.”
Magny has another stiff test in Larkin on Saturday, when they serve as the UFC 202 featured bout on UFC Fight Pass, the company’s subscription streaming service. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that Magny will be ready.
“I don’t think I’m underrated,” Magny said. “Things are unfolding the way they should be. I’m heading in the right direction…I’m right there in my career. I could be fighting for the title at any given moment.”
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand.
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