UFC Vegas 64: Neil Magny passes GSP for all-time wins at 170; Amanda Lemos TKOs Marina Rodriguez

Some of the greatest fighters who ever lived have competed, and spent considerable time, in the UFC’s welterweight division.

There’s the three greatest welterweights ever, Kamaru Usman, Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes. There’s Nick Diaz, Demian Maia, Robbie Lawler and Vicente Luque, Belal Muhammad, Carlos Condit, Jon Fitch, Frank Trigg, Josh Koscheck and so many more.

None of them, not a single one, has won more bouts as a 170-pounder in the UFC than Neil Magny. Magny joined the UFC in 2013 and has consistently been among his division’s toughest outs.

On Saturday, just a few months shy of his 10th anniversary in the UFC, he won his 20th bout at welterweight to break a tie with St-Pierre for most wins in the division.

He did it by submitting the tough Daniel Rodriguez with a D’Arce choke at 3:33 of the third round to hit the 20 wins mark. It was his 27th win overall and represented a significant moment for a guy who has never really been on the center stage.

Rodriguez essentially called him a gatekeeper before the fight, the kind of guy a fighter with championship intentions must beat in order to show he/she is worthy of fighting at the top of a division.

Magny long ago proved that. This is a guy who has wins over Geoff Neal, Max Griffin, Condit, Lawler, Johny Hendricks, Kelvin Gastelum and Hector Lombard, among others.

He’s always made weight, he’s always come in shape and he’s always fought to win. He’s the kind of guy who is the heartbeat of the UFC, willing to fight anyone, looking for a finish and accessible to fans and media alike.

“It feels amazing, man,” he said to UFC broadcaster Daniel Cormier in the cage after breaking the tie with St-Pierre. “All the hard work has paid off. I’m so fortunate to be here. It’s been a long journey in the UFC to get here, but I’m just getting started. Let’s keep it going.”

How long has that journey been? Well, he debuted at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013. That is the show that will forever be remembered as the first to feature women in the UFC. Ronda Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche by submission in that bout to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title she had been awarded after coming over to the promotion from Strikeforce.

Magny is a guy who manages to find a way, who has improved repeatedly and whose varied skill set has led to seven finishes among his 20 UFC victories, with five of those being by KO/TKO and two by submission.

He entered the fight ranked 13th, one spot ahead of Rodriguez. There is a chance he doesn’t move up in the rankings at all, but if he does move, it will only be a modest jump. Yet, in typical fashion, he called out No. 5 Gilbert Burns for a fight in Brazil.

He passed a guy whom many believe to be the greatest mixed martial arts fighter ever. While no one will refer to Magny that way, it’s no insult to say he’s been pretty damn good over a lengthy period of time.

Lemos scores big victory

After one round, it appeared that strawweights Amanda Lemos and Marina Rodriguez were going to be in a long dogfight in the main event of UFC Vegas 64 at Apex in Las Vegas. But then the bell to start the second round sounded and it was like that was the sign for Lemos to start.

The seventh-ranked Lemos dominated from that point forward, violently stopping the third-ranked Rodriguez at 54 seconds of the third round. Lemos opened the third with a hard jab and followed with a blistering right that was the beginning of the end for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez backed to the cage and smelling victory, Lemos unleashed a flurry of powerful blows, forcing referee Jason Herzog to stop it 54 seconds into the third.

Lemos controlled the second, as well, hurting Rodriguez with a counter right. She pushed Rodriguez to the cage, took her down and took her back.

Lemos couldn’t get the finish, but she set Rodriguez up for what was to come in the third.

UFC Vegas 64 main card results, highlights

Women's strawweight: Amanda Lemos def. Marina Rodriguez by TKO (punches) at 0:54 of R3

Welterweight: Neil Magny def. Daniel Rodriguez by submission (D'Arce) at 3:33 of R3

Featherweight: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke def. Darrick Minner by TKO (elbows) at 1:07 of R1:

Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Nate Maness by submission (guillotine) at 2:11 of R1:

Lightweight Grant Dawson def. Mark Madsen by submission (rear-naked) at 2:05 of R3:

UFC Vegas 64 prelims results, highlights

Women's flyweight: Miranda Maverick def. Shanna Young by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Bantamweight: Mario Bautista def. Benito Lopez by submission (reverse triangle) at 4:45 of R1:

Women's strawweight: Polyana Viana def. Jinh Yu Frey by KO (punches) at 0:47 of R1:

Bantamweight: Johnny Munoz def. Liudvik Sholinian by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Flyweight: Jake Hadley def. Carlos Candelario by submission (triangle choke) at 2:39 of R2

Women's bantamweight: Tamires Vidal def. Ramona Pascual by TKO (flying knee) at 3:06 of R1: