LAS VEGAS – Neil Magny knows that just because he has more UFC welterweight wins than Georges St-Pierre, that doesn’t mean he’s had a better career.
Magny (27-9 MMA, 20-8 UFC) submitted Daniel Rodriguez (17-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the third round of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 214 co-main event to break out of a tie with St-Pierre for most victories in 170-pound history.
It’s a record Magny has been flirting with and on the cusp of for the past few years, and it was imminent the day would come when he would become the first to win 20 times in the weight class. It’s a massive accomplishment, but Magny argues it’s nothing crazy in the grand scheme. St-Pierre is a former two-division UFC champion, a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant fighters in the history of the sport.
Before they can be put in a real conversation together, Magny said he has to make major strides.
“One of the biggest things I had to come to terms with recently is appreciate the guy that came before me and realize that I’m through my own path in the UFC,” Magny told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 214. “It’s real easy to add to the mental pressure both in the fight and after the fight is over, where you feel like you kind of came up short or could’ve done better when you’re constantly comparing yourself to other people. I believe Georges St-Pierre is the greatest welterweight of all time. It was cool to get to the point where I have the most wins in UFC right now, but I have to accept his career is far different from mine.
“I can’t look at Georges St-Pierre’s career and what he’s done in the sport and feel like I fell short or I did accomplish enough, because that’s just added mental pressure I didn’t need. … If I start to buy into the hype and constantly comparing myself to GSP, when the day does come that I walk away from it, I may have a dark shadow over it like, ‘OK, you had a great career. But you weren’t GSP.’ I know I’m not GSP. I’m Neil Magny and I’m carving my own way in the record books and blazing a path for myself.”
Magny said his attitude toward his record and career as a whole is what helped him get the job done against Rodriguez at the UFC Apex. After taking the first round, Magny allowed Rodriguez to rally back in the second frame and even the fight on the scorecard. It stopped there, though, because Magny picked things up in the final frame and locked Rodriguez in a D’Arce choke to force the tap.
“I wanted to get a submission or TKO win earlier in the fight, but shout out to D-Rod,” Magny said. “He made the adjustments. … He did a good job of adjusting, but it was just cool to see it come together.”
The record-setting victory is one Magny likely won’t soon forget, but he said he’s already thinking about how to move forward. His primary goal is to hold UFC gold, and he won’t stop working until he gets there.
“I want the stamp on my career,” Magny said. “I want to be a champion for the rest of my life. No one is going to give it to me, so I’ve got to go out and get it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.