The come-from-behind victory that Neil Magny achieved over Mike Malott, a rising star in the Canadian welterweight division, was one of the most memorable moments that occurred during UFC 297, which took place in Toronto earlier this month.
Magny was a +300 underdog going into the fight against Malott, who was coming off of a perfect record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Before ‘The Haitian Sensation’ pulled off an astounding comeback in the last seconds of the bout, Malott had dominated the first two rounds of the battle as well as the majority of the final frame.
When there was less than a minute remaining on the clock, Magny knocked out Malott, who was exhausted, and then proceeded to rain down hard ground and pound, which prompted the referee to go in and oversee the fight. A recent appearance on The MMA Hour had the veteran fighter from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recapping his victory and even claiming that the promotion was attempting to develop the unranked Malott off of him:
When the fight was presented to me, I discovered that it would take place in Canada. I also learned who my opponent would be and other information of that nature. On the other hand, I kind of welcome that pressure with open arms, despite the fact that it was quite obvious what the game plan was in terms of promotion.
Neil Magny addresses late stoppage claims
In a remarkable turn of events, Neil Magny emerged victorious at UFC 297, so claiming victory in the mixed martial arts competition. With only 15 seconds remaining on the clock, the referee ultimately called a halt to the fight, much to the dismay of the Canadian supporters who were present. Mike Malott was on his way to an easy and one-sided decision victory, but unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.
Malott was given every opportunity to make it to the final bell by referee Kevin MacDonald; nevertheless, Magny’s ground and pound proved to be too much for the native of Ontario to handle. In response to the question of whether or not it was a late stoppage, Magny stated the following in the first interview:
“At the end of the day, taking into consideration the nature of the sport, I believe that he gave him every opportunity to continue to be in the fight.” It is possible that he would have voiced his disagreement if he had taken advantage of one of those possibilities and called the fight too early.
More from Magny:
“However, I believe that it was a wise decision on the part of the referee to provide Mike with every opportunity to attempt to get himself back into the struggle.”
