Neil Magny

By FCF Staff

Neil Magny admits he was a little thrown off by the news he’s going to fight Robbie Lawler this Saturday, instead of Geoff Neal. But, the welterweight contender is thrilled to be facing the former champ.

Neal was forced to drop out of the August 29th bout due to some frightening, health complications he recently incurred. Lawler, however, agreed to step in and fight Magny at the UFC Vegas 8 card.

While talking to the media recently about the switch, Magny said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“It caught me a little off-guard,” Magny said. “First, when I got the email about Geoff Neal falling out, I was kind of bummed and it was like, ‘Hey, man. Geoff Neal fell out of the fight; we’re keeping you on standby. The next day was like, ‘Hey, Robbie Lawler wants to fight,’ and I was like, ‘Holy crap. This is even better.’

“So it was pure excitement and joy like, ‘Heck, yeah. I get a new opponent, and it’s a guy who’s a legend, a guy who I can really go out there and make a name for myself against.’ I was super excited to get that matchup.”

And while talking about what could come by defeating Lawler versus Neal, Magny had this to say.

““The fight against Robbie Lawler, there’s a lot of prestige behind his name,” Neal said. “Obviously a former world champion and being in the sport for as long as he’s been, but at the same time, Geoff Neal is the young guy you want to test yourself against. He’s new to the UFC, he’s on an amazing win streak right now, and he’s got a lot of steam behind him.”

“It’s a fight that not necessarily excites you more, but it brings its own level of excitement. If I can go out there and beat Robbie Lawler, the naysayers will say he’s past his prime, he’s this and that, and there’s going to be room for people to criticize and downplay the win. But if I were to beat a guy like Geoff Neal, it will be like, ‘Holy crap, this guy is undefeated in the UFC, he was making a sprint to the top of the division, and you stopped him in his tracks,’ so thats amazing. So each fight comes with its own list of things to take away from, but I’m happy with the Robbie Lawler matchup.”

Magny (23-7) is coming off a decision win over Anthony Rocco Martin this past June. Lawler (28-14) hasn’t fought since he lost via decision to Colby Covington last August.