Neil Magny just opened up on his training session with up-and-comer Khamzat Chimaev. The UFC welterweight praised the Swede and spoke on how he underestimated him.
Magny was interviewed on The MMA Hour by Ariel Helwani where he also discussed training with Khamzat. He said that he had the intention of taking him lightly.
“Oh, 100% [I want Chimaev]. We had a slight opportunity to train in New York and the guy is definitely the real deal. The best way I can explain it is, ‘I f***ed around and found out.’ Khamzat is definitely the real deal, I kind of went in there like, ‘Oh, here’s this sweet little wolf that I can train with in jiu-jitsu.’”
However, he soon found out how dangerous “Borz” is. Magny says that he’s thankful that he didn’t face Khamzat during his early days in the UFC as he wouldn’t have known what a monster he can be.
“And that thing got real, real fast… Damn, this guy is actually the real deal.”
“I might have set myself up for failure, looking past him a little bit.” – Magny was thankful he wasn’t matched with Chimaev earlier in his career.
This sparring session has given Magny some insight into Khamzat and his skills.
The UFC veteran is coming off a win against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN+ 72. Right now, he’s in Rio for his big outing against another veteran, Gilbert Burns. The two will square off tomorrow as they’re one of the spectacles on the stacked card at UFC 283.
Magny looks to defeat Burns and get into the top 10 welterweight rankings.
Meanwhile, Khamzat, who’s already beaten Burns, is still looking for a high-ranked opponent in either welterweight or middleweight divisions.