UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer - Predictions and Picks

#4 Welterweight: Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin

Tough gatekeeper Neil Magny looks to hold back the challenge of Anthony Rocco Martin this weekend

This Welterweight clash once again represents a chance for Martin to climb up onto the elite level at 170lbs. Nobody is going to claim Magny is a title contender any time soon – for reasons we’ll get into in a second – but the TUF veteran is incredibly dogged, has skills in all areas, and has enough Octagon experience to beat the majority of opponents he comes up against.

His biggest issue has been a simple one: a classic jack-of-all-trades, Magny might be well-rounded, but he doesn’t stand out in any one area, and that’s meant that he’s been susceptible to true specialists. He’s got 4 losses in recent years; expert grapplers Demian Maia and Rafael Dos Anjos submitted him with ease, while concussive and explosive strikers Santiago Ponzinibbio and Lorenz Larkin picked him apart and eventually TKO’d him.

Outside of them though? Magny has comfortably beaten even opponents who were favoured against him – men like Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks and most recently, Jingliang Li. So where does Martin fall on that scale?

At first glance, you’d have to give him a fair crack against Magny. Since he moved to 170lbs in 2018 he’s proven to be a highly dangerous and capable finisher in all positions. He knocked out Ryan LaFlare in devastating fashion, and choked out Jake Matthews with a beautiful anaconda choke, for instance.

Having said that though, the truth is that Martin has more in common with someone like Li or Condit than he does with Ponzinibbio – a striking expert – or the pure grappler Maia. He’s capable of finishing Magny if he has the chance, but the problem is going to be getting to the point where that opportunity opens up.

Magny is likely to be all over him from the off in this fight, just as he was against Li, and with a long reach advantage – 7” – he’s going to make it very tricky for Martin to get inside his range to land any big strikes. With an underrated wrestling game, it’s also going to be hard for Martin to drag him into any issues on the ground.

Can Martin win this fight? Yes; Magny isn’t invulnerable in any area and there’s always the chance that a finisher like Martin can find a chink in his armour, but overall the styles of the two men just favour Magny, who’s longer, tougher and is arguably the better wrestler, too. I like him to outwork Martin for a decision.

The Pick: Magny via unanimous decision