UFC welterweight Neil Magny has achieved something that seemed unimaginable. He broke a record set by one of the greatest welterweights of all time, Georges “Rush” St-Pierre. His third-round submission victory over Daniel Rodriguez brought his total wins at welterweight to 20, one more than St-Pierre, who retired with 19 welterweight victories on his resume. Magny discussed the magnitude of this achievement at the post-fight press conference.
“One of the biggest things I’ve had to come to terms with more recently is just appreciating the guys that came before me, and realize that I’m creating my own path in the UFC.
Neil Magny Breaks Phenomenal GSP Record
It’s real easy to add the mental pressure both in the fight and after the fight is over, where you feel like you came up short or could have done better when you’re constantly comparing yourself to other people.
I believe Georges St-Pierre is the greatest welterweight of all time. It was cool to be able to get to the point that I have the most wins [in welterweight history] in the UFC right now, but I just have to accept that his career is far different than mine. I can’t look at Georges St-Pierre’s career and look at what he’s done in the sport and feel like I fell short, or didn’t accomplish enough, because that’s just added mental pressure that I don’t need.”
Magny continued, pointing out that maturity has brought him insight into a fundamental feature of the fight game: he’s not anyone but himself.
“This is a lot of pressure. I feel like if I buy into the hype and constantly compare myself to GSP, when that day comes for me to walk away from it, I may have a dark shadow over my head like, ‘You had an OK career, but you were no GSP.’
I accept that. I know I’m not GSP. I’m Neil Magny. I’m comfortable with my own name in the history books and blazing a path for myself.” Magny continued, asserting that his quest for the welterweight title remains the top priority.
“It’s great to be the all-time winner or whatever else, but at the end of the day, I want the stamp on my career. I want to be labeled the champion for the rest of my life, and that’s not something someone is going to give me. I have to go out there and get it.
I do appreciate the win against Daniel Rodriguez tonight. I do appreciate holding the record for most wins in the welterweight division but that’s not the end goal for me now. Maybe five years from now, 10 years from now, I’ll look back like all right, that was good enough. But right now, I still want to be called UFC welterweight champion and I definitely feel like I can get it done.”
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