UFC 215's Neil Magny: Welterweight title shot 'within reach' if I beat Rafael dos Anjos

EDMONTON – There is no clear-cut No. 1 contender to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at this time. Neil Magny believes he could slide right in should he defeat Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 215.

Dos Anjos (26-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) was recently discussed as an alternate for Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) at UFC 214 in July if top contender Demian Maia wasn’t available. It didn’t come to fruition, but the consideration proves how highly the UFC regards the former lightweight champion, despite having just one bout at 170 pounds.

For Magny (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), he’s won 11 of his past 13 UFC appearances with wins over key names such as ex-champ Johny Hendricks and “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner Kelvin Gastelum. Putting a name like dos Anjos on his resume would lend even more credibility and, in his opinion, should set up a showdown with Woodley.

“I feel great for a potential title shot after this win,” Magny told MMAjunkie at Wednesday’s UFC 215 media day. “The biggest thing is to focus on beating dos Anjos first, but I’m pretty sure a title shot is within reach with an impressive performance against dos Anjos.”

UFC 215 takes place Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Magny vs. dos Anjos airs on the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Magny, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, has become somewhat of a forgotten man in his division in recent months. Over the past several years he’s competed as much as anyone on the roster, but injuries have prevented him from stepping in the octagon in 2017.

After taking eight months between bouts to rest and rehab, Magny said he feels healthy and better than ever.

“This has been the longest layoff I’ve had in my entire professional career,” Magny said. “I’m just fortunate enough to be back. I had a back and neck injury that kept me from training. It was getting to the point where it was possibly going to need surgery, but through physical therapy and those things I was able to get back to training and avoid surgery.”

One thing that helped Magny get through his time off is the awareness his fellow contenders recognize his value to the weight class. He’s been repeatedly called out by the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman and others, but wasn’t physically capable of accepting any such matchups.

“That was the hardest part of it all, just getting called out week after week,” Magny said. “I was like, ‘Man, I haven’t fought in six months, and you guys have the biggest wins of your careers, and the first thing you bring up is me.’ On the other side of it, it made me feel pretty good knowing I had some job security once I got cleared by a doctor.”

Instead of fighting one of the names who requested him, Magny was paired against dos Anjos. He admits the bout came as somewhat of a surprise due to the fact the Brazilian wasn’t even in his division the last time he fought. However, Magny said he likes how his style meshes with dos Anjos, and he sees plenty of avenues to what would be a crucial victory.

“I win this fight by just going out there and being confident,” Magny said. “I know I have this fight in the bag. I’ve just got to go out there and execute at this point.”

For more on UFC 215, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.