Neil Magny gets last-minute opponent for UFC Liverpool

When Gunnar Nelson was forced out of his May 27 UFC Liverpool showdown with Neil Magny, the UFC began a frantic scramble to find Magny a replacement opponent. They’ve now succeeded on that mission.

Contrary to Jorge Masvidal‘s repeated calls for a short-notice 180-pound catchweight scrap with Magny, Magny will instead battle Octagon newcomer Craig “The Thundercat” White.

This bout was announced on the UFC Europe twitter account.

The 27-year-old White, who hails from the UK, owns an overall record of 14-7. He has won his last four bouts, all by way of stoppage, tapping Thomas Robertsen and Hakon Foss, TKOing Matt Inman, and most recently submitting Alex Montagnani. White has previous experience against a number of fighters who later compete in the UFC’s Octagon, having come up short against Leon Edwards, Jake Hecht and Oskar Piechota in the past.

Magny, meanwhile, is currently riding high on a decision defeat of former UFC interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit. This win was preceded by a submission loss to top welterweight contender Rafael dos Anjos, a decision win over Johny Hendricks, and a TKO loss to current Bellator star Lorenz Larkin. He’ll battle this UFC newcomer with an overall record of 20-6, and a UFC mark of 13-5.

In an incredible display of class, Magny recently offered to donate $15,000 of his purse to a Kickstarter fund for a sick young girl if the UFC was able to find him an opponent for May 27.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BinLVUGlnF7/

“If the UFC is able to find me an opponent for May 27th, I will donate $15,000 of my fight purse to help this little girl and her family get the care that she needs,” Magny said in an Instagram post, which included a link to the kickstarter fund.

Do you think Neil Magny will topple this short-notice challenge in Liverpool, or will the debuting Craig White author an Alexander Hernandez style upset against an established UFC name? Make your predictions in the comments section.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/15/2018.