Neil Magny remembers the exact moment he stopped caring or paying attention to the UFC rankings.
The scenario that forced Magny to lose interest actually had nothing to do with him but rather his spot in the top 15 and another matchup that was booked back in 2016.
” “To protect myself and my peace and my sanity, I stopped caring about the ranking a while ago,” Magny stated on The Fighter vs. The Writer. When I was No. 1, it wasn’t a ranking situation. “I stopped worrying about rankings. 6 or something like that, this was years ago and Donald Cerrone was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum, who at the time was ranked No. 5 and that fight never came through, it never happened. It never happened. I think Kelvin had something go wrong with his weight cut and he had to pull out of the fight either the day before or the day of and the fight never came through.
“The rankings were released the following week. Donald Cerrone was in the top five. I dropped back one spot, and Kelvin Gastelum was No. 6. I’m sitting there scratching my head trying to figure out how does someone move up in the rankings without actually fighting?”
It was then that Magny realized that he couldn’t think about his number and the rank of his rivals. None of this made sense.
” I stopped caring about rankings at that time,” Magny stated. “At that point I’m like if I have a number [beside] my name, sure whatever, come and get it. Anyone who isn’t ranked would like the chance to take my number by name and try it, please come and grab it. Make that fight happen. For me, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get that title shot. For me to protect my own sanity, my own peace, I quit caring about the rankings a long time ago.”
Now just because Magny stopped caring about where he’s ranked doesn’t mean he gave up trying to fight more established and better accomplished opposition.
The problem is he’s learned through painful experience that many of the fighters near the top of the welterweight division would rather protect that number next to their name than risk it against somebody considered below them on the ladder at 170 pounds.
” I tried to fight [Vicente] Luque,” Magny said. “I tried to get a fight with Belal [Muhammad]. I attempted to fight [Gilbert] Burns. I tried to get a fight with Khamzat [Chimaev]. I tried to get a fight with ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson]. I attempted to fight all the ranked men, but for whatever reason these fights just haven’t been happening.
“It was a pretty frustrating place to be because at this point going into this Max Griffin fight, I went eight months without a fight and really long layoffs take something mentally and physically. You see some of these guys that are ranked in the top five, the top 10, I rarely ever get called out from them. Everybody from No. 11 back, they’re like ‘Neil Magny, I want to fight Neil Magny’ because they know I’m the guy that’s going to take that fight.”
Magny also observed that rankings are only relevant when specific fighters are looking for particular fights.
Magny chased a fight with Khamzat Chimiaev, after getting some excitement in UFC. He claimed he was going to be a welterweight champion.
Magny called immediately for the fight against undefeated Chechen. He continued to bang that drum until it became apparent that he wasn’t high enough ranked to fight Chimaev.
“Before the Khamzat and Gilbert Burns fight, this was a guy that reached out to me personally and was like ‘hey, let’s make this fight happen’ and he got word back his management that the UFC isn’t interested in making this fight — Neil Magny’s not ranked high enough for you'” Magny revealed. “But then he turns around and fights the guy that’s ranked four or five spots behind me [in Li Jingliang]. Where is the logic here when it comes to the rankings and what do these things even mean anymore? This is both a blessing and a curse.
“On one side of it, you want to be in the top five, you want to be close to the title shot but on the other side of it, it’s like what does it actually mean at this point?”
Magny’s frustration only festered even more in the aftermath of Chimaev’s win over Burns back in April.
“We’ve seen guys [like Khamzat Chimaev] win fights, be ranked No. 2 and then call out Nate Diaz who hasn’t won a fight in five years and you’re sitting here thinking how do we legitimize these rankings when you have things like that taking place?” Magny said.
” I don’t get it. I quit chasing the rankings because it’s the most frustrating thing possible.”
On Saturday, Magny will once again face an opponent behind him in the UFC’s rankings at welterweight as he draws undefeated prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov, who has received considerable buzz as the next big thing in the division.
On paper, Magny still doesn’t have as much to gain even with a win over Rakhmonov because the 27-year-old fighter from Uzbekistan just isn’t as established in his career but he’s never turned down an offer from the UFC and there’s no reason to start now.
“Here I am, fighting a guy ranked behind me — yet again — in order to hopefully get closer to my spot,” Magny said. We are here.
” I can see the kinks and weaknesses in his armor. There are many ways that I could beat him. He’s a guy that’s coming up. He’s undefeated. He is a young man. He has way more fights ahead of him than I do. So to go out there and test myself against the best of the best right now is the thing that drives me.”
Whether he starts getting more favorable matchups or not remains to be seen but Magny knows he’s built a reputation that he’ll fight anyone the UFC decides to throw at him and there aren’t many on the entire roster who could make those same claims.
When it comes time to go home, Magny is aware that he will leave behind a record most fighters won’t be able to touch. That’s enough for Magny.
” I know what it took to win the battles. I know the risks that I took,” Magny said. “Willing to fight people all over the world, in their own backyards. These are fights that most people wouldn’t take. Go down to South America to fight [Santiago] Ponzinibbio. Fighting Demian Maia at his peak in Brazil. Nobody wants to do that. Two weeks notice required to fight Kelvin Gastelum, Mexico. Five rounds.
” No one wants to take on those risks and I did. It’s something that I am proud of and have no regrets .”
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