Neil Magny Drops Craig White with a Knee, Calls Out Kamaru Usman (UFC Liverpool Results)
Longtime veteran Craig White was afforded the biggest opportunity of his career at UFC Fight Night 130 on Sunday in Liverpool, England. Unfortunately for White, he wasn’t able to capitalize on it.
Magny was originally supposed to have fought Gunnar Nelson in Liverpool, but Nelson had to withdraw because of an injury and White got the late-notice call to step in on his home soil.
Riding a four-fight winning streak into the bout, White started strong, exchanging leg kicks with Magny before clinching and putting the UFC welterweight contender on the fence. The two exchanged reversals a couple of times before Magny kneed White in the groin, forcing a brief stop in the action, allowing White time to recover.
Upon restarting, White immediately went back to the clinch, again pressing Magny up against the cage. Magny reversed position and drove a knee into White’s stomach, forcing him to try and take Magny to the canvas. The fight did hit the floor, but with Magny on top.
Magny stood rather quickly and dropped punches from standing inside White’s guard, but eventually forced the Brit to return to his feet.
White tried to storm Magny with punches, but Magny put him on the fence, drove a knee into his face, and dropped White to the canvas. Once there, Magny didn’t relent. He dropped down and rained down punches until the referee called a halt to the fight late in the first round.
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The victory gave Magny his first back-to-back wins since stringing together victories over Kelvin Gastelum in late 2015 and Hector Lombard in early 2016. Though he is now 21-6 overall, Magny knows he can’t yet expect a title shot in the crowded welterweight division, so he took aim at another fighter who has been making noice, in particular by calling him out.
“Kamaru Usman, you’ve been calling me out for two years; it’s time for me to beat that ass, baby,” Magney said after the fight.
He also praised his opponent for accepting the fight on short notice.
“Congrats to Craig White for taking this fight. He took this fight on short notice to make sure everything happened tonight. Because he took this fight, I’m going to be able to make a $15,000 donation to a young girl who is fighting a very severe medical condition right now.”
