Neil Magny was down but he’s never out.
The veteran welterweight pulled off another miraculous comeback on Saturday at UFC Perth after he nearly didn’t make it out of the first round in his fight against Jake Matthews.
The end actually came late in the third round when Magny snatched a D’arce choke submission that forced Matthews to tap out to end the fight. The stoppage came at 3:08 in the third round but that was only possible after the referee made a huge mistake in the first.
With Matthews holding onto a guillotine choke, Magny was holding on with only seconds remaining in the round. It appeared momentarily like Magny’s arm went limp but in reality he was just waiting for the horn to sound.
The referee actually intervened and appeared to call an end to the fight but Magny immediately popped up protesting the stoppage. A moment later, the referee effectively erased that call and said the fight would continue.
Magny eventually pulled off the submission in the third to score the win and snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
“It felt great,” Magny said about the submission win. “I’m truly fortunate and blessed to be able to do this. I was actually hunting that power bomb .. always keep fighting, always keep pressing forward.”
It really was a stunning comeback after Matthews largely dominated the opening two rounds beyond nearly getting the submission earlier in the fight. Matthews continuously muscled Magny around the octagon and controlled the vast majority of the grappling exchanges.
But with five minutes remaining, Magny emptied his arsenal and his gas tank as he did everything possible to get the finish. Somehow, some way Magny got it down after grabbing the D’arce choke and forcing Matthews to tap out.
Magny has now scored back-to-back finishes to move his record to 3-2 over his past five fights as the 38-year-old veteran remains a stalwart in the welterweight division.
