Perennial Welterweight contender, Neil Magny (No. 13), looked to halt the momentum of surging Canadian prospect, Mike Malott, at UFC 297 TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This 170-pound showdown is hardly new territory for Magny, who has embraced his role as the savvy veteran who often fights much younger opponents who are ranked behind him.
Who does this other than Magny? No one.
Therefore, the plan this evening for the 36-year-old — regardless of what the oddsmakers expected — was to derail Malott’s surging hype train. But, “The Haitian Sensation” had his work cut out for him — Malott boasted three fights (and three finishes) inside the Octagon to date.
When the dust settled, Malott appeared primed to carry the torch for Canadian MMA, but then Magny stormed back late to secure a technical knockout finish in the third and final frame (watch highlights here).
Malott got the action started with a push kick to keep Magny at bay, following up with another low kick … perhaps signaling how the Canadian planned to approach this bout. He scored another two low kicks shortly thereafter, with Magny hopping on one leg after a near-check. Next, an overhand right from Malott missed, giving Magny the opportunity to grab a hold of him and spin into the cage. Malott didn’t hang out there long, though, circling out of danger and heading back to the center of the Octagon, where he started to unleash more low kicks. High kick from Malott just missed, with Magny ducking under at the last minute. Left jab, left low kick combination from Malott, who drilled Magny with one more and he was visibly bothered. It seemed like the first round went to Malott based on the volume of low kicks alone … not much else happened.
Magny — seemingly somewhat compromised with his left leg — needed a strong bounce-back round to keep his winning hopes alive. He came out pumping a furious jab, then a low kick, which Malott checked well. Another kick from Malott, but Magny burst forward with a flurry rather than hanging out in kicking range. Front kick from Magny, then he ate a hard body kick, as Malott continued to circle and pick his shots. About 90 seconds in, Malott switched up his approach, nailing an easy takedown and putting in a little work on the ground before the pair returned to their feet. They clinched, with Magny looking for a trip takedown, but Malott flipped the script and put Magny on his back again, this time at the bottom of the cage. Magny was able to get Malott off of him for a moment, but when he tried to get back to his feet, the two clashed heads. Malott used that in the ensuing scramble to secure full-mount. Malott bounced a hard elbow off Magny’ forehead and continued to look for openings as “The Haitian Sensation” dodged his furious attack.
Two rounds down and it was pretty clear that Magny needed a finish. And that’s exactly what the wily veteran did. Malott — who had never seen a third round in his UFC career — secured a super fast takedown in the final frame. Magny was able to get back to his feet, but a big trip moments later had him on his back once more. It was at that point that Malott appeared to totally shut down. Magny started to get the better of the scrambling, eventually ending up in top position. And then over the course of two minutes, he wore down an exhausted Malott with a barrage of punches. Malott had nothing left, laying on his side just eating knuckle sandwiches until the referee had finally seen enough.
It was a nice effort from Malott early, but Magny is an old dog with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Not this time, kid.
Final result: Magny def. Malott via techical knockout in round three — WATCH HIGHLIGHTS!
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