Neil Magny reacts to Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards booking

UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny has reacted to a newly confirmed matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards.

Chimaev, the hottest prospect in MMA at present, and Edwards, the UFC’s No. 3-ranked welterweight contender, are scheduled to collide on December 19.

Magny has an interesting perspective on the bout, as it briefly looked like he would be the next man to fight Chimaev, but the fight never materialized.

Speaking to ESPN this week, the welterweight contender reacted to Chimaev fighting Edwards instead.

“I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that his team and himself believe the easier matchup for him was Leon Edwards.”@NeilMagny told @arielhelwani why he believes Khamzat Chimaev opted to fight Edwards and not Magny, who had been campaigning. pic.twitter.com/LsWgD6SX7i

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 28, 2020

“The only thing I can think of that caused this fight not to go through is his team thought that was a better matchup for him,” Magny said (via MMA Mania).

“I am not going to sit there and toot my own horn and say that fighting the No. 8 guy is a better deal that fighting a No. 3 guy, but I am pretty sure his team might have thought that Leon Edwards was the easier fight for him,” Magny added. “He matched up better with Leon Edwards than he would against me

“The fact that he was willing to fight everyone else but me, I think that is pretty obvious at this point that his team and himself believe that the easier match for him was Leon Edwards,” he continued. “In my opinion it’s a no-brainer. I mean, the proof is in the pudding. How much more do I have to say for this man to step up and take this fight?”

While Neil Magny believes Khamzat Chimaev ducked him, Chimaev claims that he accepted the fight with the American.

Which fight did you prefer for the prospect?