Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
A Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight scrap put together on short notice will need to wait a few weeks longer to materialize.
The UFC booked Neil Magny (26-9) against Daniel Rodriguez (17-2) shortly after Rodriguez’ UFC 279 appearance for UFC Fight Night 212 on Oct. 15. However, Rodriguez posted on his Instagram Stories on Thursday that he had been forced to withdraw from that contest. Suffering a cut on his elbow in his match with Jingliang Li that resulted in a staph infection, he had to pull out of the fight. The promotion decided to keep the welterweight pairing intact, and reschedule it a few weeks later. Per the UFC on Friday, Magny and Rodriguez will now lock horns at UFC Fight Night 214 on Nov. 15. Their venue will not change, as both events are scheduled for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Magny is looking to bounce back from his first submission defeat in over nearly five years, as he succumbed to a guillotine choke from unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov in June. That put an end to a two-fight win streak over Geoff Neal and Max Griffin. “The Haitian Sensation” is currently tied with Georges St. Pierre for the most victories in UFC welterweight history with 19, while he trails Matt Brown (29) for the most appearances in the division with 27. The 35-year-old out of Elevation Fight Team has faced many of the best fighters to ever compete at 170 pounds, and he celebrates victories over the likes of Robbie Lawler, Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit and many others through his lengthy career.
Albeit at 180 pounds due to its previously planned catchweight status, Rodriguez found himself changing opponents from Kevin Holland to Li on a day’s notice at UFC 279. “D-Rod” claimed a contentious split decision with a 10-pound weight advantage to lift his win streak to four straight. The 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu product made his debut with the promotion in 2020, and he has already fought for the Las Vegas-based league eight times, with seven wins opposite a single defeat. Rodriguez has topped names including Kevin Lee, Tim Means and Mike Perry as he moved up the division’s ranks.
UFC Fight Night 214 will now proceed with an additional fight likely set for its main card. Its billing is not complete, but it will be headlined by a featherweight encounter between undefeated up-and-comers Bryce Mitchell and Movsar Evloev. Additional matchups likely featured high on its order include a strawweight strap between Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos, as well as a flyweight battle pitting Tagir Ulanbekov against Nathan Maness.
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