Neil Magny has been asking for a fight. Now he has one, but it’s not against Khamzat Chimaev.
Enter Max Griffin. In a welterweight fight March 26 in Columbus, Ohio, Magny (25-8 MMA, 18-7 UFC) and Griffin (18-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) will compete in a three-round bout. The event takes place at Nationwide Arena. The main card airs on ESPN after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The fight was first reported by Twitter user @MagicM_MMA.
Over the past year, Magny lobbied to fight the rising star Chimaev. However, the UFC has different plans. Magny enters his March 26 bout with wins in three of his most recent four outings. He most recently competed in May when he defeated Geoff Neal via unanimous decision.
Griffin, meanwhile, is rolling with three wins in a row. After back-to-back stoppages against Ramiz Brahimaj and Song Kenan, Griffin won a unanimous decision over former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit in July.
With the addition, the UFC Columbus lineup now includes:
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic
- Amanda Ribas vs. Michelle Waterson
- Neil Magny vs. Max Griffin
- Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa
- Tucker Lutz vs. Seungwoo Choi
- Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Montel Jackson
- Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
- Nate Landwehr vs. Lerone Murphy
- Alexa Grasso vs. Joanne Wood
- Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- David Dvorak vs. Matheus Nicolau
