Magny (photo via UFC.com)

By FCF Staff

Neil Magny isn’t letting his defeat versus Demian Maia get in the way of his championship dreams, as the fighter says he’s more focused than ever on securing the welterweight title.

Magny will take on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 78 tonight, after working his way to a split decision win over Erick Silva on August 23rd. That bout returned Magny to the win column, following his submission loss to Maia a couple of weeks earlier. The defeat was just the second time in Magny’s last 10 fights that he’s been defeated.

Recently Magny spoke to UFC.com about tonight’s match-up, and while doing so, he had this to say about his loss to Maia.

“After my loss to Maia I didn’t sit around and feel sorry for myself,” Magny said. “I sat with my coaches and talked about the things I needed to do to get better, then hit the gym to work on the areas we needed to. When the offer to fight Erick Silva came to us, we jumped right on it and the decision to do so paid off.

“I feel the fight against Silva showed I was not the fighter fans saw in my previous fight. I think it showed that things happen, but you have to get back up and keep moving forward. The end goal is to get the UFC welterweight championship, but there are a lot of steps to take between here and there.”

Gastelum, meanwhile, stopped Nate Marquardt in his last outing. The TUF 17 winner has gone 6-1 in official UFC action.

UFC FN 78 will take place in Monterrey, Mexico.