‘Nomad’ Sets His Sights On Neil Magny

“Dana White, Khamzat Chimaev, I’m ready to go. I’ve been chasing this fight for over a year, it still hasn’t happened yet. Khamzat Chimaev, I’m coming for you.” — Neil Magny

Neil Magny wants to derail the hype train of undefeated welterweight sensation Khamzat Chimaev, but unfortunately for “The Haitian Sensation,” the 10-0 “Borz” is already booked to compete against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on April 9 in Jacksonville.

“Fight me Neil Magny, no one wants to fight me,” undefeated 170-pound bruiser Shavkat Rakhmonov wrote on Twitter. “Now I have a couple of fighters in my sights, one already refuses to fight me and the other claims that he is ready to fight anyone. Jingliang Li get your balls together and fight me. Neil Magny you said you were ready to fight anyone, let’s do it if Li still doesn’t have the guts to.”

Rakhmonov (15-0) crossed over from M-1 Challenge back in late 2020 and has since racked up three straight victories inside the Octagon, with all three contests ending by way of first-round finish. That includes his UFC Vegas 47 snuff film starring Carlston Harris.

Magny, 34, doesn’t sound too worried.

“I definitely want that top-five guy right away, but at the end of the day I can’t wait for them,” Mangy told the media (via MMA Junkie). “I’ve seen crazier things happen. Just a couple of weeks ago Islam (Makhachev) fought a guy who wasn’t ranked in Bobby Green and he moved up one ranking spot. So if I have to fight whoever the UFC throws at me and move up one by one and find myself in the top five, so be it. I’ll do it. I just have to keep showing up over and over again.”

Magny (26-8) is one victory away from becoming the winningest fighter in the history of the welterweight division, thanks in part to his unanimous decision nod over Max Griffin at UFC Columbus last weekend on ESPN. ”The Haitian Sensation” is currently ranked No. 9 at 170 pounds.

Rakhmonov, 27, remains unranked.