UFC 207 results: Crowd doesn't like it, but Neil Magny survives takedowns to top Johny Hendricks

LAS VEGAS – Johny Hendricks might have won in the wrestling department, but Neil Magny’s work off his back won the fight.

Magny (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) battered a visibly sluggish Hendricks (17-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC), no doubt sapped by a disastrous weight miss, and picked up unanimous scores to upset the ex-champ.

The catchweight bout (Hendricks failed to make the welterweight limit) closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC 207 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

The final scores were unanimously 29-28, reflecting Magny’s superior work on the mat in the first and third frames. While Hendricks took him down every frame, eager to pick up points in an energy-efficient approach, it was Magny who was the busier fighter on bottom, twice trapping Hendricks in triangle chokes.

The first attempt wasn’t close, but ended the opening frame on an up note for Magny after he used his legs to attack Hendricks’ midsection at distance. The second one may very well have sealed the fight were it not for the final bell.

Hendricks did his best work in the second frame when he got an early takedown and threatened chokes to make Magny think twice about getting up. When he did, Hendricks wheeled around to his back and landed big punches.

But after coming in two and a half pounds heavy for the non-title bout, it was clear Hendricks didn’t have the energy to do much more than wing a few of his heavy hooks and fall back on his wrestling skills. As it turned out, that wasn’t enough to take the win this time.

Hendricks now falls to 1-3 since losing the title in a rematch with Robbie Lawler. He could face questions about retirement after broaching the topic in a potential loss against Magny, who gets back in the win column after a TKO loss to Lorenz Larkin in his previous outing.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 207 results include:

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(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)