UFC 202 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 4
LAS VEGAS-
No matter what happens Saturday night, the success of UFC 202 will probably be measured by how the card performs when its compared to UFC 200.
Thats not entirely fair. UFC 200 was stacked with famous fighters, while the marketing for UFC 202 has relied (almost) entirely on Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.
But where UFC 200 had established stars, UFC 202 has a couple guys who might be one or two fights away from superstardom themselves.
Or a title shot, at least.
For Neil Magny and Cody Garbrandt, Saturday night represents a massive opportunity to shine under the brightest spotlight of their careers.
A win for Garbrandt over Takeya Mizugaki could earn him a fight against UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, while victory over Lorenz Larkin would put Magny squarely among the welterweight elite.
It is what it is at the end of the day, Tyron (Woodley) is great and he just won the title so congratulations to him, but I know Im super close to fighting for the title, Magny said Thursday at UFC 202 Media Day at the Red Rock Casino. Just look at the guys Ive beaten recently, it shows that Im right there and Im ready to go.
While Magny is only seventh in the UFCs largely ridiculous official rankings, hes been on an absolute tear over the past couple of years. Since February of 2014, hes won 10 of 11 fights, beating big names including Hector Lombard and Kelvin Gastelum, who is inexplicably listed above him in the rankings.
Larkin might not exactly be the big-name opponent who can push him into the upper stratosphere of UFC stardom, but Magnys employers tend to reward guys who fight regularly, and theres no one whos been more willing to jump into the octagon than Magny.
But for anyone looking for the UFCs next big thing, its got to be Garbrandt.
The heavily-tattooed 25-year-old has the look of a superstar and was dressed to impress at Thursdays media day. He wore a crisp new David August suit and held court with the media on everything from a potential fighters union to his thoughts on Wednesdays fracas between McGregor and Diazs fight camps.
Garbrandt was mature, he was articulate and he spoke with the confidence of a man who had won his first four UFC fights and had secured three knockouts in that period.
Win on Saturday, and a title fight is likely next. Lose, and its straight to the back of the line.
No pressure, kid.
Theres always going to be that urge to win and that burning desire to win for me, Garbrandt said. I love winning and I hate losing but I know thats part of the sport. I dont focus on losing, I just focus on going out there and having fun and performing to the best of my ability.
If its not my day then its not my day, but I go out there in training camp and prepare myself to go to battle. Im always going out there looking for the knockout, theres no difference on Saturday.
UP NEXT FOR COVINGTON
All things considered, its a little strange that more people arent talking about Colby Covington.
The 28-year-old California native has been around the UFC for almost two years now and has gone 4-1 in his time with the UFC. His opponents havent been especially high profile, but hes finished three opponents and has often looked spectacular in doing so.
On Saturday, h**l take on Max Griffin on the UFC 202 preliminary card. Covington is predicting h**l finally get people talking.
Im going to finish him, theres no way hes getting out of the second round, Covington said. If he does, hes not getting out of the third, so Im definitely just going to steamroll him and hes not going to be able to keep up with my pace.
Thats kind of what Im going to do to the whole division. No one can keep up with my pace.
This is another opportunity to get right back in front of the cameras and get another big win and get what I want. I want the big fights, I want the top-15 fights.
BACK WHERE SHE BELONGS
Like so many Canadian fighters before her, Randa Markos decided a while back that a move to Montreals Tristar Gym was the best thing she should do for her career.
But something wasnt right at Tristar, and when she returned to her home at Michigan Top Team before her last fight with Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, things began to click into place. With a second fight in two months scheduled for Saturday night when she takes on Cortney Casey, Markos made it clear that she wouldnt be going anywhere any time soon.
Obviously if I stayed at Tristar they would have gotten to know me a little bit better and would have helped me with my game and everything, Markos said. But I feel like Im at a point in my career where I got this far with what I know and I dont want to change it, I just want to add more things to my game.
daustin@postmedia.com
@DannyAustin_
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2016/08/18/ufc-202--notes-magny-garbrandt-on-verge-of-stardom
