Neil Magny curious what's next after biggest win of career vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 219

LAS VEGAS – Neil Magny scored the biggest win of his career Saturday night, when he defeated Carlos Condit at UFC 219, and it was as tough as he expected it to be.

“I definitely thought it would be a close fight,” Magny said backstage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I knew we’d go strike for strike, submission for submission. So I definitely expected a super-close fight.”

Magny (20-6 MMA, 13-5 UFC) earned a unanimous decision from the judges to defeat Condit (30-11 MMA, 7-7 UFC) and said he figured out the right approach to beat Condit during the opening round.

“That first round let me see that wrestling was the only way to break away in this fight and give me an advantage, so I ran with it,” Magny said.

It was Condit’s first fight in 16 months, and while he was competitive, “The Natural Born” killer seemed to fight with hesitation during the 15 minutes. He wasn’t his usual aggressive self.

Perhaps that was because of the long layoff.

“You just never know,” Magny said. “It’s been a while since he’s fought last. He had plenty of things he was working on. I thought his work was more grappling-related based on just how he fought.”

“He went out there, and he put on a great fight,” Magny continued. “I don’t think the fight was as clear, decisive as it was. I think some of the takedowns is what separated the fight. He seemed like normal Carlos Condit to me.”

The win marked a nice rebound for Magny, who was coming off a first-round submission loss to presumed No. 1 welterweight contender Rafael dos Anjos in September at UFC 215.

Condit certainly is the biggest name Magny has defeated. But even so, he’s unsure where that leaves him after he’s alternated wins and losses in his last four fights since August 2016.

“I have no idea where this takes me now,” Magny said. “I’m waiting for the phone calls to come in Monday morning to see what’s next. … To close this year out with a big win feels amazing.”

To hear more from Magny, check out the video above.

For complete coverage of UFC 219, check out the UFC Events section of the site.