Neil Magny hands former champ Johny Hendricks third loss in a row
LAS VEGAS — Neil Magny has been asking to fight former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks for quite some time, and he made the most of that opportunity with a unanimous decision victory over the former welterweight champion
While Hendricks undoubtedly outwrestled Magny during the three-round battle, it was the Colorado-based fighter who used crisp striking and a solid submission game to edge out what is arguably the biggest win of his career.
Meanwhile, Hendricks was clearly dejected after dropping his third fight in a row in a bout he clearly felt he won when it went to the judges' scorecards.
After exchanging a few strikes on the feet, Hendricks finally swooped in for his first takedown as he planted Magny on the mat with about two minutes to go in the opening round.
Thanks to Magny's length, he was able to stave off Hendricks from landing many big shots on the ground before he caught the former champion in a triangle choke attempt while blasting away with a series of hard elbows from the bottom.
Hendricks wasted no time getting the fight back to the ground to start the second round before quickly moving into side control on top of Magny.
Magny was able to work back to the feet but only for a few seconds due to Hendricks' relentless pursuit of the takedown before planting him back on the mat yet again.
As the third and final round got underway, Magny started to put together his combinations, landing a few stinging shots on Hendricks, who started to slow a bit after outwresting his opponent for the first 10 minutes.
Hendricks finally got a big slam late in the round, but once again found himself stuck in Magny's guard before he threw up another triangle choke attempt from the bottom. Much like the first round, Magny seemed like he was close to finishing the hold before time ran out on him.
When it was over, the judges all returned scores of 29-28 in favor of Magny, who moves to 4-1 over his past five fights.
Unfortunately, the loss drops Hendricks to just 1-4 over his past five while losing three in a row for the first time in his career. It's been a tumultuous run for Hendricks, who also failed to make weight for the third time in his UFC career on Thursday.
While Hendricks proclaimed ahead of UFC 207 that he was done fighting at welterweight, there's no telling what direction he'll take next following a third straight defeat in the Octagon.
