UFC No.12-ranked welterweight Neil Magny recently shared his thoughts on his rough time training with Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev has taken the UFC world by storm. The aggressive Chechen star has wowed audiences and fighters alike with his relentless wrestling pressure and strength. For Neil Magny, ‘Borz’s impressive offensive output wasn’t something to be afraid of. Instead, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ has often called Chimaev out for a fight.
Magny was gunning for a showdown with Chimaev soon after the latter’s 2021 return from a life-threatening bout with COVID-19. While they’re yet to meet in the Octagon, the pair recently had a tussle at Renzo Gracie’s gym in New York.
The pair were spotted practising grappling together, during which Chimaev submitted Magny with a mounted triangle.
More recently, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ has confessed to underestimating the strength and skill-set that Chimaev possesses.
“This Guy Is Actually The Real Deal” – Neil Magny On Khamzat Chimaev
In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Magny admitted to learning the hard way just how talented Chimaev is.
“We had the opportunity to train in New York and the guy is definitely the real deal,” Magny said. “The best way I can explain it is like, I f***** around and found out. Khamzat is definitely the real deal.
‘The Haitian Sensation’ went on to confess that a fight between the two would likely have ended poorly for him had it occurred when he was demanding it.
“I went in there thinking, ‘Oh, here’s this sweet little wolf that I can train with in jiu-jitsu,’ and then things got real, real fast. There’s more hats to the guy, more so realizing, damn, this guy is actually the real deal. He’s not a fighter or fight I can take lightly at all. If I’m being honest, had I got that fight early on, I might have set myself up for failure, looking past him a little bit.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Despite Chimaev’s history of vicious confrontations with potential rivals, Magny revealed that this was simply a friendly bit of training. While it did become more combative than expected, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ is making no excuses and has even suggested he’d still like to face ‘Borz’ eventually.
Neil Magny will face the No.5-ranked Gilbert Burns at UFC 283 this weekend.
How do you think Neil Magny would fare in the Octagon against Khamzat Chimaev?