UFC 250: Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s UFC 250 fight between Neil Magny and Anthony Rocco Martin, with MMA betting odds, picks, tips and bets.

Neil Magny and Anthony Rocco Martin hook up in a welterweight bout on the main card at UFC 250 at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas. The card kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ and on pay-per-view.

Magny (22-8) enters this fight with a three-inch height advantage and an amazing 6 1/2-inch reach advantage over his counterpart. The veteran posted a unanimous decision victory over Li Jingliang at UFC 248 last time out March 7, improving to 3-1 over the previous four fights with two ending inside the distance. He hasn’t won a fight by submission in 12 tries dating back to Feb. 14, 2015, while tapping out twice, so Rocco Martin (17-5) would be wise to try and get the veteran to the mat early and often. Magny leads all active welterweight division fighters with 15 wins, and is second all time in the division with nine decision victories.

Rocco Martin posted a unanimous decision victory over Ramazan Emeev at UFC Fight Night Nov. 2, 2019, improving to 5-1 across the past six with only a majority decision setback to Demian Maia June 29, 2019 during that span. He hasn’t been submitted in his past 10 fights while winning two in such method. He has also never been knocked out in 22 career bouts as a pro, winning by KO/TKO once.


Want to place a bet on UFC 250? Place bets at BetMGM online in CO, IN, NJ and WV! New customer offer: Risk-free first bet! Visit BetMGM for terms and conditions. Bet now!


Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin betting odds

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, June 4 at 11:25 a.m. ET.

MAGNY (-143) is on a roll lately, and the veteran is a good play against Rocco Martin (+120) on the 2-way line.

Rocco Martin will likely do everything in his power to get Magny to the canvas or end his night early with a big hit, but the veteran should be able to keep the challenger at a distance with that distinct reach advantage. Magny has a way of slowly and methodically grinding out fights. It isn’t pretty, but he wows the judges with the technical aspects, which is why he has nine decisions wins at the UFC level. Look for MAGNY BY DECISION (+120) as the method of victory. As such, taking YES (-250): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is the play, but try and parlay that with something else rather than eating all of that chalk straight up.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Magny (-143) to win straight up fetches a return of $7.69, while a $10 wager on Magny to win by decision (+120) returns a profit of $12.

To watch the full card, sign up for ESPN+ now.

If you want some action on this MMA bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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UFC 250: Make your predictions for Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 250 in Las Vegas, featuring champ Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer for the women’s 145 title.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 250 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 250 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

UFC 250 lineup finalized: Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer gets top billing

The UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view event has a finalized card and location.

The UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view event has a finalized card and location.

Wednesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission approved two UFC events for the first time since COVID-19 – UFC on ESPN 9 on Saturday and UFC 250 on June 6, both of which will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The NAC also unanimously approved COVID-19 protocols for the events, which won’t include the presence of a live audience.

UFC 250 will be headlined by bantamweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC), who will make her first 145-pound title defense when she takes on [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will look to snap his three-fight skid when he takes on [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (27-7 MMA, 11-3 UFC).

A pivotal 135-pound clash between contenders [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will also take place, as well as another showcase bantamweight bout between rising star [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and [autotag]Eddie Wineland[/autotag] (24-13-1 MMA, 6-7 UFC).

The complete UFC 250 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer – for featherweight title
  • Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
  • Cory Sandhagen vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Anthony Rocco Martin[/autotag]
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Eddie Wineland

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Charles Byrd[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Maki Pitolo[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Jussier Formiga[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]

Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin added to UFC 250 lineup

A welterweight bout between Neil Magny and Anthony Rocco Martin is the latest addition to June’s UFC 250 lineup.

A welterweight bout between [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Rocco Martin[/autotag] is the latest addition to June’s UFC 250 lineup.

MMA Junkie confirmed with multiple people close to the situation that Magny (22-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) and Martin (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) have agreed to the matchup. The people requested anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

UFC 250 takes place June 6. The event does not have an official location or venue, but it’s expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Magny made his return to competition from a career-long layoff in March when he outpointed Li Jingliang at UFC 248. He was previously on the sidelined due to a USADA suspension in which he was eventually cleared of wrongdoing. With 15 wins in the welterweight division, Magny trails just Georges St-Pierre (19) and Matt Brown (16) for most in history.

Martin, meanwhile, gets the change of opponent he desired after a matchup with David Zawada was called off the UFC’s April 25 event due to the coronavirus pandemic. After getting mixed results at lightweight, Martin returned to 170 pounds in April 2018 and has gone 5-1 since.

The latest UFC 250 lineup now includes:

  • Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer
  • Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Ian Heinisch vs. Gerald Meerschaert
  • Jussier Formiga vs. Alex Perez
  • Charles Byrd vs. Maki Pitolo
  • Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin

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Neil Magny keen to ‘get back in there,’ eyes future fights with Michael Chiesa, Geoff Neal

UFC welterweight Neil Magny revealed is looking at two possible names for his next fight: Michael Chiesa and Geoff Neal.

[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] is looking at two possible names for his next fight.

Magny (22-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) returned from a 16-month layoff to beat the streaking Li Jingliang at UFC 248 and is now looking to re-enter the welterweight rankings.

Winner of three of his last four, Magny is eyeing matchups with [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] and [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag], but won’t fault them if they don’t want to fight him.

“Guys like Mike Chiesa definitely are on the radar,” Magny told MMA Junkie. “But it’s one of those things in this sport where guys get ranked and all of a sudden they stop looking behind for competition and they just only have their eyes set on a number and that kinda thing. I can’t fault the guy, I was in the same boat before, where because I was ranked higher than a particular person, I thought that I should challenge myself against someone who’s ranked above or close to me. So I can’t actually fault someone for making that decision.

“But, at the end of the day, I’m just ready to get back in there and test myself against the best. So guys like Mike Chiesa, Geoff Neal, those are guys who are on my radar, and I’m looking forward to competing against (them) very soon here.”

Magny offered to step in and face Marvin Vettori at 185 pounds last week. Vettori was scheduled to face Karl Roberson at UFC on ESPN+ 29, but Roberson fell ill due to a botched weight cut.

With his coaches already in Florida to corner his teammates, Justin Gaethje and Drew Dober, Magny offered to face Vettori on the May 16 card, but the fight never came to fruition. Vettori agreed to the matchup but wanted the fight at light heavyweight, which was too heavy for Magny, who would have had to balloon up.

Though he didn’t get to fight this past Saturday, Magny said he’s ready to go as soon as May 30 but understands he might have a difficult time finding opponents in the current circumstances.

“I think Sean Shelby is getting annoyed with me at this point,” Magny said. “I’m texting him and emailing him at least three, four times a week about getting in on one of these cards and making something happen. It’s unfortunate. Right now it’s just one of these situations where, because of how things are set up, the person you want to fight may not be comfortable or confident in taking a fight because their training situation is not ideal.

“I can completely understand where we are right now in the world with this whole COVID situation and why some people might be cautious about jumping into a training camp when there’s so much uncertainty moving forward.”

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Spinning Back Clique: Agree with Dana White? Was UFC 248 main event letdown Yoel Romero’s fault?

So much to discuss coming out of UFC 248, and this week Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture joins the show to unpack it all.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” are joined by guest Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture to unpack the fallout from an eventful – and uneventful – UFC 248 and more.

SHOW RUNDOWN:

  • The UFC 248 headliner between middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] was anything but the war we all expected, with Adesanya winning a bizarre snooze-fest by unanimous decision to retain his title. Afterward, UFC president Dana White placed all of the blame on Romero, who, at 42, received this title shot despite a two-fight losing streak. The way White sees it, it was on him to go all out and win the title. Do we agree?
  • On the complete opposite spectrum of the UFC 248 headliner was the co-main event, an instant classic that saw strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] retain her title by winning a split decision against [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]. What did we learn about both women after such an incredible and brutal title fight?
  • With UFC 248 out of the way, UFC 249 is the next pay-per-view, and you know what that means: [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] finally will attempt to meet inside the octagon after four failed bookings. Before they do, though, they came face to face at the first UFC 249 news conference in Las Vegas, and it was quite the intense experience. We share our takeaways.
  • [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] and [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] returned to the octagon at UFC 248 after dealing with lengthy ordeals involving the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which ultimately resulted in their exoneration. And both men looked good in claiming victories. What do we think is next as they try to get their career back on track?
  • In a story from out of left field, UFC featherweight [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] allegedly attacked Jay Park, rapper and friend of “The Korean Zombie” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag], while sitting cageside at UFC 248. The incident, which was caught on video, is so unlike anything we’d expect from Ortega given the character he’s shown through the years. We react to what transpired.

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 19 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

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UFC 248 medical suspensions: Israel Adesanya needs his feet checked out

Israel Adesanya is one of six fighters in need of further evaluation after UFC 248.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is one of six fighters in need of further evaluation after UFC 248.

The UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who defended his title in a unanimous decision over Yoel Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, needs X-rays on both of his feet before obtaining clearance to fight again.

Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of medical suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission, the body that oversaw the event.

Complete UFC 248 medical suspensions include:

* * * *

Israel Adesanya: Needs X-rays of both feet. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until April 9; minimum suspension no contact until April 29.

[autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: Suspended until May 5; no contact until April 22.

[autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]: Suspended until May 5; no contact until April 22.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: Needs MRI on right knee. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until April 9.

[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: Needs MRI on left shoulder. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until Sept. 4; minimum suspension with no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: Needs X-ray on left foot. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until Sept. 4; minimum suspension with no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: Needs X-ray on left foot. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until Sept. 4; minimum suspension with no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: Needs X-ray on left ankle. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until Sept. 4; minimum suspension with no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Deron Winn[/autotag]: Suspended until April 7; no contact until March 29.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Danaa Batgerel[/autotag]: Needs X-ray on right foot. If injury discovered, must have doctor’s clearance or no contact until Sept. 4; minimum suspension with no contact until April 7.

[autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: Suspended until April 22; no contact until April 7.

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UFC 248 salaries: Israel Adesanya takes home good chunk of total payout

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was the highest earner at UFC 248, taking home more than double that of the card’s other champ.

Middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] was the highest earner at UFC 248, taking home more than twice as much disclosed pay as the card’s other defending champ.

Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) made $500,000 with no win bonus for his main event title defense against challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Romero made $350,000 in defeat.

The other defending champion on the card, Zhang Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) netted $200,000 for beating [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who got $106,000 in the memorable title contest.

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $2.086 million.

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Complete disclosed salaries for UFC 248:

  • Israel Adesanya: $500,000 (no win bonus)
    def. Yoel Romero: $350,000
  • Zhang Weili: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
    def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk: $106,000
  • [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $40,000
  • [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $152,000 (includes $76,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: $64,000
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag]: $128,000 (includes $64,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $35,000
  • [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: $33,000
  • [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Austin Hubbard[/autotag]: $12,000
  • [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Saparbek Safarov[/autotag]: $22,000
  • [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Deron Winn[/autotag]: $12,000
  • [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $10,000
  • [autotag]Danaa Batgerel[/autotag]: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
    def. [autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: $14,000

The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC 248 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC sometimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.

For example, UFC officials handed out additional $50,000 UFC 248 fight-night bonuses to Dariush and O’Malley for “Performance of the Night,” and Weili and Jedrzejczyk for “Fight of the Night.”

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

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Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Israel Adesanya, Zhang Weili and UFC 248’s key winning fighters?

See whom champs Israel Adesanya and Zhang Weili should fight next after their title defenses at UFC 248.

(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Yoel Romero, Joanna Jedrzejczyk after UFC 248 losses?)

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.

With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 248’s key winning fighters.

Those include [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who defeated Yoel Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend his middleweight belt in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who edged Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by split decision to retain the strawweight belt in the co-headliner, as well as [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC), [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] (22-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) and [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

* * * *

Sean O’Malley

Brian Kelleher

Should fight: [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]
Why they should fight: O’Malley returned to the octagon in resounding fashion after two years away and showed that he’s still a top bantamweight prospect by putting away Jose Quinonez with an impressive – and fast – first-round finish.

Now undefeated, it’s time for “Suga” to take a step up in competition and see if the talent really matches the hype. He’s able to show out against fighters who aren’t in his league, but what about against someone who should be far more competitive against him?

Sure, Kelleher (20-10 MMA, 4-3 UFC) hasn’t proven himself to be a worldbeater, but he has more experience than O’Malley, has fought better opponents and has better wins. He called for the fight after O’Malley’s win, and the UFC should give it to him.

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Neil Magny

Michael Chiesa

Should fight: [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]
Why they should fight: After a 16-month layoff, Magny returned in fine form and picked up a solid unanimous decision win against Li Jingliang, who has been doing some good things in the welterweight division in recent years.

Immediately after the fight, Magny had a name ready to go for who he wanted next. That name was Chiesa, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over former champ Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in January that moved him to 3-0 as a welterweight.

Chiesa promptly took to social media and accepted to the callout, and with both sides invested, this one makes itself.

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Beneil Dariush

Gregor Gillespie

Should fight: [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Dariush extended his winning streak to four fights with one of the best knockouts so far this year. He stopped Drakkar Klose with an absurd punch in the second round of their lightweight matchup, and now it seems Dariush is on the cusp of breaking back into the top 15 of the weight class.

Dariush has been in and out of the rankings over the years, but with three consecutive stoppage wins, he hasn’t seen this type of momentum before. It puts him in position to get a name opponent at 155 pounds, and Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is available.

Gillespie is coming off a heinous knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244 in November, but from all indications is looking to book his next fight sometime in the coming months. Dariush said he’ll be ready to get back to work after his upcoming honeymoon, and it certainly has the ingredients for a solid fight.

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Zhang Weili

Rose Namajunas

Should fight: [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] or [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Weili should fight Rose Namajunas (if she wins at UFC 249) or rematch Jedrzejczyk next for her second title defense.

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Israel Adesanya

Paulo Costa

Should fight: [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Adesanya should fight Costa (12-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next for his second title defense.

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Neil Magny says he used lengthy downtime well, wants Michael Chiesa after UFC 248

Take a look inside Neil Magny’s win over Li Jingliang at UFC 248 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] beat Li Jingliang with a unanimous decision Saturday on the main card at UFC 248 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Magny, who got back in the win column after the longest layoff of his career. He has won three of his past four.

Result: Neil Magny def. Li Jingliang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated records: Magny (22-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC), Jingliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC)
Key stat: Magny outstruck Jingliang 123-16 and landed 65 percent of his strikes.

Magny on the fight’s key moment

“We went back and looked at my last five fights, the wins and losses, and really looked at where I could improve. One of the biggest things we found was foot positioning. I feel like we addressed that well tonight. Another thing is pressure. I wanted to sit back and calculate a little bit more, so it’s been improvement all around.”

Magny on his long time off

“It feels great to finally get back in there and win. Over the last year now, I’ve been finding myself in a real down place. I’ve put that all behind me now and came out on top tonight, so it feels great. In a weird way, this time off has been a blessing. It allowed me to spend a lot of time with family, even grow my family back at home. I also made some changes in my camp and made sure we were doing everything as well as possible.”

Magny on what he wants next

“I think this gets me right back in the mix. The division has been shaken up a bit since I’ve been gone, but I showed tonight that I can jump back in there with the best of them, so I’d love to jump back in there with (Michael) Chiesa.”

To hear more from Magny, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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