"I've been trying to fight you for literally a year" - Neil Magny calls for fight with Khamzat Chimaev in 2022
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Neil Magny said he cannot figure out why a fight against Khamzat Chimaev hasn't been made.
Magny recalled when Dana White himself acknowledged the UFC welterweight for stepping up to fight Khamzat Chimaev. However, all of that eventually led to nothing and Magny is still wondering why the contract for a fight against 'Borz' never came through.
While Chimaev was out for months due to his experience with Covid-19, he announced his intentions to return earlier this year. Despite that, there's been no talk of Magny squaring off with 'The Wolf'.
"That's the thing, I mean like, I'm trying to wrap my head around and I can't figure out. So last year was this whole, 'No one wants to fight Khamzat Chimaev'. So Dana White came out and said, 'You know what? I'm gonna give credit where it's due, Neil Magny is the only guy that is willing to step in and fight Khamzat Chimaev'. I thought when he said that I was gonna be like, 'Alright cool, Dana White acknowledged that. I'm the only guy who wants to fight Khamzat, this fight's gonna happen. Let me just go ahead and wait for this contract to come through and yeah, here we are a year later, still discussing the same thing."
"This whole boogeyman idea, that no one wants to fight [Khamzat Chimaev], I’m like, 'No, man. I’m right here.'"
@NeilMagny tells @arielhelwani he's been trying to fight Chimaev for "literally a year" 👀 #TheMMAHour
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Neil Magny is still open to fighting Khamzat Chimaev in 2022
During the same conversation with Ariel Helwani, Neil Magny went on to discuss how Khamzat Chimaev wasn't even ranked in 2021 when he agreed to fight him. This year, however, it's a different scenario with Chimaev being placed at No.11 and Magny being placed at No.7.
Neil Magny is the most feared fighter in MMA 😱 #TheMMAHour
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Judging by Magny's comments, he is still interested in seeing himself share the octagon with 'The Wolf' at some point down the road in the near future.
"No man, I'm here. I've been trying to fight you for literally a year. Last year you weren't even ranked and I said, 'Sure, I'll take the fight.' This year you're finally ranked, you're #11, I'm #7 and still not sure. Let's make the fight, let's make it happen." added Neil Magny.
Check out Neil Magny on The MMA Hour:
Khamzat Chimaev recently made his return to the octagon to face Li Jingliang at UFC 267. 'Borz' once again looked incredibly dominant in his fight and went on to beat the Chinese welterweight sensation. As of now, neither Chimaev nor Magny have a fight booked.