Neil Magny vs. Michael Chiesa Will Replace Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards as Fight Island 8 Main Event

Khamzat Chimaev Out Against Leon Edwards for Fight Island 8

Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa Step in to Replace

A new fight between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny will take over the main event spot for Fight Island 8. Both fighters are on a three fight win streak. On paper this is an interesting fight with the win streaks, but honestly I think this one plays out even better in reality. Both fighters are known for cardio and not necessarily knockout power, have good grappling skills, and like to take the fight to their opponent. This fight without a doubt has the potential to be a war on the feet with twists and turns of slick mat work.

Michael Chiesa

Michael Chiesa consistently looks to punch his way into either a shot or the clinch. Chiesa also looks to shoot reactively against strikes. Once Chiesa has the clinch he is looking for a body lock or to press his opponent up against the fence and finish from there. Once the fight hits the mat Chiesa tries to flatten his opponents out and smash passes them. Once past the guard Chiesa has a good ability to transition between the traditional BJJ point scoring positions (side control, knee on belly, mount, and back) and stop his opponent’s attempts to stand or improve position. Chiesa hunts the back and has good hand fighting from that position.

Neil Magny’s Stand Up

Its worth noting that Magny has an eighty inch reach which would be outstanding in any weight class, but is freakishly advantageous at welterweight. On the feet Magny is well rounded offensively and defensively sound. He controls distance very well for someone that tall and rarely gets his feet crossed. The welterweight vet is effective in all ranges of combat and likes to use his long reach to manipulate his opponents guard and set up his strikes, enter the clinch, or clear the hands to shoot. Magny has good wrestling skills and will often use his long frame to win scrambles when his opponents try to take him down.

Magny’s Ground Game

On the ground Magny is very good at getting and maintaining the grips he wants, which is the base of successful ground work. On top it sets him up to pass and take the back and from bottom position to avoid strikes and set up submission attempts. Magny is also good at taking the back and his only submission victory in the UFC is by way of a strangle from the back. While he only has one submission victory in the UFC it is worth noting that Magny is a good positional grappler and will threaten with credible submission attempts.

How They Match Up

Both fighters have good wrestling skills and there’s a chance that they cancel out and we see a stand up battle. I see Chiesa having a slight advantage with the grappling, but could be wrong. Magny possesses strong grappling. it is possible that he could thwart Chiesa’s attacks on the mat and maybe use some of his own. Chiesa has five UFC wins by RNC and some interesting arm attacks, both of which he will be trying to utilize in this bout. On the feet Chiesa is likely to try to punch into a clinch or shot from the opening bell, if the fight stays standing I believe Magny will have an advantage being the more well rounded striker.

Takeaway

After losing the highly anticipated bout between welterweight contender Leon Edwards and promising prospect Khamzat Chimaev, fans were given a bout between Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa to replace the Fight Island 8 Main event. The Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards bout is to going to be rescheduled for another date and the fans get a nice replacement fight to save the event. The fight is an interesting match up between two fighters with some interesting skills and is definitely worth tuning in for.

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