Neil Magny stepped in on short notice to take on the undefeated Irish prospect Ian Machado Garry, in a fight with some bad blood in the background, at UFC 292.
Magny stepped in on just over a week’s notice when Geoff Neal was forced out of the bout with medical issues. Saving the bout did not stop animosity from appearing between the fighters when Magny made comments about whooping his child that Ian took exception with. Regardless, Magny has long been a traditional test for the up-and-coming prospects in the UFC welterweight division and has done well in that role, owning the most wins and fights in divisional history. However, at age 36 the ‘Haitian Sensation’ may be slowing down while an eleven year age gap means Garry is speeding up, looking better and better in every fight, especially his knockout of Daniel Rodriguez earlier this year. He continued that run here, dominating Magny for three rounds.
The first strike thrown by Ian Garry, a calf kick, took Magny off his feet. Garry let him right back up, however. It happened again right away though. Ian pressed forward for a time but then Magny got on the front foot, trying to clinch him but Garry escaped when Neil grabbed ahold of him. The next time he tried to he got reversed and held himself by Garry. Magny pulled guard with two minutes left in the round, but Garry was having none of it and landed another leg kick when Neil stood up. The next one took Magny off his feet; Neil then butt scooted towards Ian, desperate to keep the fight on the mat. Ian Garry partially landed a head kick which hurt Magny somewhat but Neil had enough composure to catch the kick and try to take him down. Garry’s defense held up however and he landed one more brutal leg kick before the round ended.
Magny came out jabbing and looking urgent to start round two but Garry’s evasive movement was on point. Another leg kick made Magny start to limp and his forward movement was halted. Garry was the one pressing forward. Still, Neil shot a takedown and held Ian in the clinch for some time but Garry turned his back to Neil to work on clearing the body-lock. Magny wrapped up a leg around Ian’s but Garry was able to spin back into him and take the outside position in the clinch before separating. Garry then landed a head kick that stunned Magny momentarily and knocked his mouthpiece out. Neil put it back in and then another leg kick set him to limping again. Ian pressed the pace and hunted the finish, mixing in leg kicks with his boxing. Magny was completely stuck on the fence and on the defensive but he managed to survive to the bell.
The final round began with Magny in a deep hole on the scorecards and hurt badly. Ian landed a head kick to start but the toughness of Neil kept him alive, though he fell to the floor again from another leg kick and then hopped around on the other leg for a time. Ian again trapped Neil against the fence and poured it on, dropping him again with more leg kicks and letting Magny back up. Magny offered almost no offense in the remainder of the round, just surviving and circling away. Magny fell down once again and was allowed back up. Finally, with one minute left Ian Garry actually got on top when Magny fell to the ground and tried to finish him with ground strikes. He hunted for a guillotine in the final seconds and even mounted Neil right before the bell, which saved Magny. The bad blood hadn’t cooled after the fact, with words exchanged and Garry flipping the bird at his opponent.
The decision was not in doubt; the only question with the scorecards was how many 10-8 rounds would be awarded. The answer was that two judges awarded a single 10-8 while the last judge gave Ian Machado Garry a 10-8 in every round. In the post-fight interview Garry called for a bout against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, which he said would prove he is the best striker in the history of the division.
Sign us up 👀@IanGarryMMA calls for Wonderboy after winning at #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/feUzhbi74U
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2023
Official Result: Ian Machado Garry def. Neil Magny by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-24)
