Neil Magny

Early Life and Career

Neil Magny was born and grew up in New York, with a mixed heritage of Haitian and Dominican descent. He moved to Illinois at the age of 12, where he attended Thornwood High School and later Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he earned a degree in Criminal Justice. He was involved in sports such as wrestling and football during his high school and college years. He also served in the army and was deployed in Kuwait before leaving the service in 2013.

Neil Magny began his professional MMA career in 2010 and won his first three fights in the C3 Fights and Cut Throat MMA promotions. He then moved on to Combat USA's Wisconsin vs. Illinois championship series where he advanced to the final round of the welterweight division tournament. He lost in the final round but fought one more time before trying out for the popular reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

Neil Magny’s Career in The Ultimate Fighter

Neil Magny was selected to be a cast member on the reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson. He won his elimination fight to enter the competition house, and was chosen by Shane Carwin as part of his team. He won his first fight of the season against Cameron Diffley and then defeated Bristol Marunde in the quarterfinals. However, he lost in the semifinals after being knocked out by Mike Ricci in the first round.

Neil Magny’s Career in UFC

Neil Magny first competed in the UFC against Jon Manley on February 23, 2013, as part of the preliminary card for UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche. He had previously amassed a 7-1-0 record in professional MMA. He won the fight by decision in the third round. Since then, Magny has had 28 more fights in the UFC and currently holds a record of 20-8-0, including his impressive victories against Geoff Neal, Li Jingliang, and Robbie Lawler.

Magny also holds the record for most victories in the welterweight division (20 wins) of the UFC surpassing Georges St-Pierre’s previous record of 19 wins.

Neil Magny’s Record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date
Win	27–9	Daniel Rodriguez	Submission (D'Arce choke)	UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos	November 5, 2022
Loss	26–9	Shavkat Rakhmonov	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot	June 25, 2022
Win	26–8	Max Griffin	Decision (split)	UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus	March 26, 2022
Win	25–8	Geoff Neal	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson	May 8, 2021
Loss	24–8	Michael Chiesa	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny	January 20, 2021
Win	24–7	Robbie Lawler	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić	August 29, 2020
Win	23–7	Anthony Rocco Martin	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 250	June 6, 2020
Win	22–7	Li Jingliang	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 248	March 7, 2020
Loss	21–7	Santiago Ponzinibbio	KO (punch)	UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio	November 17, 2018
Win	21–6	Craig White	KO (knee and punches)	UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till	May 27, 2018
Win	20–6	Carlos Condit	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 219	December 30, 2017
Loss	19–6	Rafael dos Anjos	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	UFC 215	September 9, 2017
Win	19–5	Johny Hendricks	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 207	December 30, 2016
Loss	18–5	Lorenz Larkin	TKO (elbows)	UFC 202	August 20, 2016
Win	18–4	Héctor Lombard	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir	March 20, 2016
Win	17–4	Kelvin Gastelum	Decision (split)	The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum	November 21, 2015
Win	16–4	Erick Silva	Decision (split)	UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira	August 23, 2015
Loss	15–4	Demian Maia	Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC 190	August 1, 2015
Win	15–3	Lim Hyun-gyu	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber	May 16, 2015
Win	14–3	Kiichi Kunimoto	Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch	February 14, 2015
Win	13–3	William Macário	TKO (punches)	UFC 179	October 25, 2014
Win	12–3	Alex Garcia	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos	August 23, 2014
Win	11–3	Rodrigo de Lima	KO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt	June 28, 2014
Win	10–3	Tim Means	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva	May 10, 2014
Win	9–3	Gasan Umalatov	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 169	February 1, 2014
Loss	8–3	Seth Baczynski	Decision (unanimous)	UFC: Fight for the Troops 3	November 6, 2013
Loss	8–2	Sérgio Moraes	Submission (triangle choke)	UFC 163	August 3, 2013
Win	8–1	Jon Manley	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 157	February 23, 2013
Win	7–1	Daniel Sandmann	Decision (unanimous)	Hoosier Fight Club 10	February 11, 2012
Loss	6–1	Andrew Trace	Submission (guillotine choke)	Combat USA 30	July 21, 2011
Win	6–0	Quartus Stitt	Submission (triangle choke)	Combat USA 27	May 14, 2011
Win	5–0	Kevin Nowaczyk	Decision (unanimous)	Hoosier Fight Club 7	April 9, 2011
Win	4–0	Darion Terry	TKO (punches)	Rumble Time Promotions 7	November 19, 2010
Win	3–0	Lawrence Dunning	TKO (punches)	Cut Throat MMA 1	November 6, 2010
Win	2–0	Nate Pratt	Decision (unanimous)	C3 Fights 6	October 22, 2010
Win	1–0	Nolan Norwood	Submission (kimura)	C3 Fights 5	August 7, 2010

Neil Magny’s Most Popular Fights

Neil Magny vs. Li Jingliang

At UFC 248, Neil Magny returned from a 16-month absence and put on an impressive performance. He displayed a versatile striking style, exceptional fitness, and a consistent pace which kept Li Jingliang on the defensive for the majority of the fight. He ultimately earned a unanimous decision win, with all three judges scoring the match 30-27 in his favor. This win was Magny's first victory since 2018.

Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal

Neal Magny squared off against Geoff Neal at UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson.

In the first round of the fight, there wasn't as much striking as expected, with both fighters spending time in the clinch. The final round saw Magny in control, keeping his distance and using a high volume of punches to connect while avoiding the clinch. Magny's range proved to be a problem for Neal and even briefly took him down.

Magny defeated Neal with a pair of 29-28 scores and a 30-27 and was declared the winner via unanimous decision.