The UFC is finalizing a welterweight contest between ranked contenders that will go down in October. MMA Island was the first to report earlier today that the promotion has finalized a contest between Daniel “D-Rod” Rodriguez (17-2) and “The Haitian Sensation” Neil Magny (26-9). The fight will take place at a Fight Night on October 15th.
For Neil Magny, he’s going to be looking to bounce back in this bout. The last time we saw him was back at a UFC Fight Night in June where he took on top prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov. Magny asked for the fight against the young star and ended up getting submitted in the second round.
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Magny. Prior to the loss to Shavkat, Magny had defeated Max Griffin and Geoff Neal. Magny is 5-2 in his last seven fights with the two losses coming against Shavkat and Michael Chiesa.
Quick UFC turnaround
This October bout is a quick turnaround for D-Rod. We just saw him at UFC 279 where he took on Li Jingliang. Now, originally he was supposed to fight Kevin Holland. However, the entire card shifted the day of the weigh-ins and ultimately he fought Li.
It was a very competitive fight between the two men. While many, including myself, believe that Li won the fight, Rodriguez was given the decision. It improved his UFC record to 7-1. The fight against Li was Rodriguez’s first fight in over a year.
It’s clear that he wanted to jump right back in after that fight. This is a big opportunity for D-Rod and if he gets the win, we should be looking for a top ten opponent in his next fight.