UFC 215 went down Saturday night live from the Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, Alberta. The co-main event saw welterweights Neil Magny and Rafael dos Anjos go head-to-head in a key fight for the division.
The co-main event of UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday ultimately turned out to feature welterweights Neil Magny and Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos, of course, was a former UFC lightweight champion who had found success in his debut fight in the welterweight class, having defeated former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine in June. Magny, meanwhile, was coming off a decision victory over former UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks at UFC 207 late last year.
The fight was originally expected to appear earlier on the card, but was moved up with bouts between Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou, and Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg fell through.
RDA came into the bout feeling he was no longer at a disadvantage from a tough weight cut. Magny, meanwhile, wanted to get back to business after his usual frantic pace, with this being his first bout of the year.
Right from the start, Dos Anjos took the action to the mat, leg kicking Magny to the ground then working from side control before finding himself trapped in half guard. He worked to pull free, dropping some short elbows on Magny in the process. RDA was flirting with a choke, but did not commit. However, a few minutes later, Dos Anjos was able to step over Magny’s leg into full mount. Magny then gave up an arm, allowing RDA to lock in an arm-triangle choke. Within moments, Magny was forced to tap!
Rafael dos Anjos def. Neil Magny by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 3:43
