“Respect” is a word that is thrown around very often in the world of professional sports.
Some individuals are given too much while there are others who are not getting enough. In combat sports, one should expect that respect comes from winning. Unfortunately, Neil Magny is an individual who has bucked that trend. As he prepares to face Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC Fight Night, he still isn’t drawing the attention that his record should elicit.
Magny is 14-3 and is riding a six-fight win streak. This occurred after a less-than-stellar 1-2 start with the promotion. His current success has helped him reach No. 15 in the UFC’s current ranking list. When looking at Magny’s recent performances, this spot is lower than where he should actually sit.
Thiago Alves, Ryan LaFlare, Gunnar Nelson, Rick Story and Kelvin Gastelum are the five individuals that are ranked above Magny. When looking at this list, only Story and Gastelum have recent victories of value that would support an argument of their ranking being higher than Magny. Alves, LaFlare and Nelson each have not put together performances that warrant being ranked in a better position.
Still, Magny is pushing forward on his current path which has allowed him to be one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster.
“I need to get in there and fight as often as possible and make those mistakes and learn from them and try not to make those same mistakes later on,” Magny said in a piece by Thomas Gerbasi on UFC.com. “So if I can stay active and keep fighting, I’d love to.”
That activity is another reason why Magny should receive more respect than he currently does. He has won six fights in 15 months, which deserves high praise. MMA is at a point where many fighters miss ample time due to injury. Alves, who is ranked No. 12, spent two years off due to a serious physical condition. That time away is enough reason to place Magny above Alves and others who he’s outperformed in the last year.
The opinion on Magny should change if he’s able to defeat Lim during this weekend’s card. Lim has defeated three men by violent stoppage since joining the UFC. Even former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine struggled with Lim when they fought back in 2014. In fact, Lim may find himself a part of the UFC’s divisional rankings if he can defeat Magny.
2015 is nearly halfway over and the MMA community is still pretty mum on Magny’s potential. If he can put together a strong performance, he should expect more praise to come his way. Either way, he’s already put forth his plans for this year.
“2015 is the year I start getting bigger name fights and start getting the fights that can start getting me the recognition that I’ve worked for,” he said in the same UFC.com piece. “I see myself getting the guys in the top 15 and top 10 now and I’ll just climb that ladder and be ready for top five fights and title shots in 2016.”
What does Magny need to do to earn the respect that other fighters have?
Keep winning.
He’s done a great job of it in 2014, and that respect will come if the trend continues throughout 2015.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com