How about Vicente Luque? Neil Magny willing to 'make the perfect opportunity' for himself

Neil Magny continues to prove he’s here to stay and already has his eyes on two potential opponents.

Magny (25-8 MMA, 18-7 UFC) scored an upset win over knockout artist Geoff Neal this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 24 and finds himself one win away from tying former champion Georges St-Pierre’s record for most welterweight wins in UFC history.

A perennial contender, Magny already has fought twice in 2021 and doesn’t intend to slow down. Magny has been going back and forth with Khamzat Chimaev and while he’s certainly open to fighting him, he’s not willing to wait if Chimaev hasn’t fully recovered from COVID-19 related complications by late summer.

Another name that entices Magny is the surging Vicente Luque, who’s racked up plenty of bonuses by continuously dispatching his opposition.

“Ideally if it was a perfect-world scenario, I’d be fighting a guy like Vicente Luque,” Magny told MMA Junkie Radio on Monday. “Vicente Luque is on an impressive win streak right now. He’s ranked in the top 10, so that’s definitely a guy that moves my career forward as far as getting closer to that top five and closer to a title shot.

“But at the end of the day, this is also an entertainment sport, as well, and a guy like Khamzat Chimaev has been running his mouth a lot. He’s definitely a guy that needs to get in there and get a fight. So if I’m unable to get a fight against a top-ranked opponent, I’m definitely not opposed to fighting a guy like Khamzat Chimaev in August.”

Magny quietly has built one of the most impressive resumes at 170 pounds. Though the 33-year-old never has contended for a title, he’s never been one to seek the easy route to the top.

“Last year I was getting a lot of credit from the media and the fans for stepping up and going out publicly and saying that I want to fight these different guys, but those fights never panned out,” Magny said. “And I ended up sitting there waiting two months, three months, four months for a fight, and it never really matured into anything. So at this point, (I’m) realizing that I’m not getting any younger by the day.

“I’m in my prime right now. I want to make sure I make the most of that and make the best of this opportunity, so if it means I have to fight three, four guys before I get a title shot, then I’m willing to do that. The one thing I’m not willing to do is wait around for that perfect, ideal matchup. I’m willing to go out there and make the perfect opportunity for myself.”