Neil Magny Isn’t Underestimating Johny Hendricks

Neil Magny spoke with Bloody Elbow for a new interview. Some highlights are below:

On Hendricks’ losing streak: “I didn’t want to get caught up in the idea like, ‘Oh Hendricks is past his prime. He’s on a two fight losing streak, he’s this, he’s that.’ I just try and keep the image fresh in my mind of him fighting Georges St-Pierre and being the guy that a lot of people think beat GSP. In that fight he came out with slick wrestling. He was patient with when to use his power. He was using his takedown effectively. He fought a real smart fight and he looked to be in really good shape. I’m just looking forward to fighting the guy who comes out super aggressive, the guy who has power, the guy that has good wrestling, and focus on fighting that kind of Johny Hendricks.”

On training with David Zabriskie: “David’s a similar build to Hendricks, he’s able to push the pace and he has so many different techniques that guys who wrestle for MMA don’t necessarily use. So I wanted to bring in a guy who has actually been wrestling his entire life, who has NCAA experience, to come out and just show me what those guys are dong in the training rooms.”

On having his eye on this fight for a while: “Before my last fight even, that was the fight my coaches and I were eyeing…I remember a few years ago being in Las Vegas for International Fight Week, where a couple of guys in the UFC, Brendan Schaub, Tyron Woodley, all just kinda went to a little bar and were hanging out and I remember seeing Johny Hendricks at the bar and he was the champ in my division at the time, and me being a young up-and-coming fighter, I was just like, ‘Wow this guy is the champion in my division, I’m standing two feet from him and he’s here drinking beers.’”

On his loss to Lorenz Larkin: “I just 100% overlooked him. I saw some film on this guy and thought he doesn’t have good wrestling, doesn’t have good submission defense. I’ll just get a takedown and submit him. I literally played out the fight being that easy in my mind.”

On unionization in MMA: “Sure there’s always room for improvement, but overall I don’t feel like I’ve had a bad patch with the UFC since I’ve been with them. So I don’t feel a need to have the union just yet. But there are some key things the union have been bringing up like better health insurance, which would be cool, but I personally think those are things that fighters can address face-to-face with the UFC and not necessarily bring a third party in.”

On his hope for the UFC taking care of its fighters: “I just hope that going forwards the fighters and the UFC are able to get their needs met without a third party coming in. Because at the end of the day, if this union is going to come in, there’s gotta be something in it for them, and as much as I would like it to be all about the fighters, at the end of the day it’s a job for somebody and they’re out to get paid as well. The unions sound like a good idea on paper, but with the guys running it, I’m not sure what their true agenda is. I would hate to make a deal with the union and end up screwing up what I have with the UFC now. There’s so many uncertainties and unknowns right now to commit one way or another, so what I just need to do is keep focused on my relationship with the UFC and keep focused on my fight.”