After making his way into the UFC through the sixteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Neil Magny has slowly become the dark horse of the welterweight division.

He has won ten of his last eleven bouts within the octagon, with his sole loss coming from Demian Maia by submission. Since then he has begun working on his submission defense and continues to improve every day.

He recently defeated Hector Lombard and at the rate he is climbing, if he continues he will crack into the top five of the most stacked division in the UFC sooner than later.

But Magny is not only a mixed martial arts fighter, he is also a military man who has fought for our country. Check out the video below where he talks about his deployment in Afghanistan, how mixed martial arts helped him get through the hardships of his time overseas and what it is like being a role model.

“>

About Neil Magny:
When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training for MMA when I was 17 years old. I walked into Miguel Torres’s gym and saw those guys training and I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I started off by taking a couple of BJJ classes and then I eventually started taking kickboxing classes also. While I was deployed overseas I met some guys who trained kickboxing, BJJ and MMA. We would meet up after duty and train with each other every day.

What ranks and titles have you held? I’m a Purple Belt in BJJ under Miguel Torres and Andre Leite. I was All Army Combatives Champion and the All Guard Combatives Champion.

Do you have any heroes? Outside of MMA my heroes are my grandmother and mother. These women taught the values of hard work and sacrifice. In MMA, my heroes are Nate Marquardt, Matt Hughes and Miguel Torres
source: UFC.com