In the final UFC 202 Fight Pass prelim, unranked welterweight Lorenz Larkin picked #7 ranked Neil Magny apart and forced a TKO stoppage in the first round. Vicious kicks to Magny's left knee stopped his aggression and led to a double-turned-single leg takedown attempt, which Larkin answered with elbows to the side of his head. As Magny appeared to go slack, referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to stop the fight with less than a minute remaining in Round 1.
"Get back, get back, you don't know me like that!" #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/p4oU0X4PEv
— #UFC202 (@ufc) August 20, 2016
Magny was on a three fight win streak coming into the fight, with decisions over Kelvin Gastelum and Erick Silva and a TKO on Hector Lombard. His last loss came via Demian Maia in August 2015, when the Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert caught him in a rear naked choke. In January, Magny attended one of Maia's seminars and learned a lot, according to Ben Fowlkes of MMA Junkie. However, he was unable to utilize any of his grappling in this fight. Prior to his loss to Maia, Magny was on a seven-fight winning spree.
Larkin had gone 3-2 in his last five before stepping into the cage today. He last took a decision win over Jorge Masvidal in May, and has recent TKO wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio and John Howard. Larkin's performance at UFC 202 was nearly flawless, and his kicks were so destructive, he split open his own shin.
My lord. That was ruthless destruction from the very beginning of the fight by Larkin; Magny had zero answers. #UFC202
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) August 20, 2016
My man Larkin's leg is all busted open from HOW MANY TIMES HE INFLICTED VIOLENCE ON A MAN WITH AFOREMENTIONED LEG. #UFC202
— Justin Golightly (@SecretMovesMMA) August 20, 2016
Magny's knee could be injured from those nasty kicks. Kicks were placed on the back side of the leg, high on calf. Shearing force. #UFC202
— Kevin Nicholson (@MMAInjury) August 20, 2016
Following his win, Larkin said, "I came in feeling like I had something to prove tonight. I have to make an argument for why I deserve to be pushed and marketed and I think going out there and delivering a dominant performance is what it takes. All I want is to be the biggest star in this sport.
"Neil is a long fighter so my game plan was to go in there and chop him down with leg kicks. Being long can be an advantage but with me, it was a disadvantage because I knew his leg would be out there and I made him pay. I came in with a ‘finish or be finished’ mindset.”
During the round, the accumulation of the leg kicks manifested in Magny keeping a lot of his weight on his back leg and severely limiting his movement. In his post fight interview, Magny said, “The power behind his kicks definitely surprised me. Lorenz came out and did exactly what he was supposed to do; his game plan worked. I’ll be back. I’ve bounced back before and I’ll do it again.”
Larkin's record moves to 18-5 and this victory should propel him into the top ten. Magny also sits at 18-5.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
