Kelvin Gastelum on narrow loss: Don't take anything away from Neil Magny

MONTERREY, Mexico – Whether or not Kelvin Gastelum thought he deserved the win in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 78 headliner, he doesn’t want anyone taking anything from his opponent.

In the FOX Sports 1-televised main event at Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Mexico, welterweight Neil Magny (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) started strong and then survived late to top Gastelum (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) via split decision with scores of 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47.

Magny, an honorable mention in the NOS Energy Drink MMA welterweight rankings, took the fight on short notice in place of injured Matt Brown and is now 9-1 over his past 10 fights. However, a pivotal fourth round – one in which Gastelum scored multiple knockdowns to make it a close fight – didn’t register any 10-8 scorecards, and that ultimately set up Magny’s win.

Gastelum, who entered the fight as more than a 3-1 favorite, said the close nature of the bout shouldn’t tarnish what is a signature victory for the ever-busy Magny, who picked up five wins in 2014 and now four this year.

“First of all, I think no one should take away anything from Magny,” Gastelum said after the event. “I mean, he came in on two weeks’ notice, stepped up, and pulled out of the win. Whether (the fourth round) was a 10-8 round, I don’t know.

“I thought it was going to be either a win or a draw, but no one should take anything away from Magny.”

Magny, who took home a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus for his efforts, said it was clear he lost the latter rounds. But he was hopeful his early success would carry him to a win.

“I thought, at the beginning of the rounds, I did enough in the first three rounds to win the fight, but you just never know when you leave it up the judges,” he said. “Kelvin’s a tough competitor. He just kept coming the whole time. So I’m sure it was a difficult fight to score on the judges’ side.”

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