UFC 207 Continues to Expand: Johny Hendricks to Square Off with Neil Magny

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Tuesday that former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will return to the Octagon to face Neil Magny in one of the featured bouts of UFC 207.

Hendricks came up short against Georges St. Pierre in his first bid for the promotion’s 170-pound title but when “Rush” retired from the sport, “Bigg Rigg” captured the vacant crown by edging Robbie Lawler in a terrific back-and-forth brawl at UFC 181. Hendricks was one of the most feared fighters at the time, but the Texan relinquished the belt to Lawler in an immediate rematch and he’s never been the same fighter since.

Hendricks edged veteran Matt Brown via decision at UFC 185, but he lost his next two bouts: one via knockout to Stephen Thompson and most recently via decision to Kelvin Gastelum. With one win in his last four bouts, conquering Magney is paramount.

Magny, meanwhile, has been on a much more positive roll even though he’s also coming off a loss. The Brooklynite had won 10 of 11 inside the Octagon until he was knocked out by Lorenz Larkin in the first at UFC 202. A win over Hendricks would certainly get him back on track.

UFC 207 will go down on Dec. 30 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by the women’s bantamweight championship between reigning 135-pound queen Amanda Nunes and former champ Ronda Rousey. The card’s initial prelims will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass, followed by the rest of the preliminary card on Fox Sports 1. And per the norm, the meaty main card will be available live on pay-per-view.

Also slated for the event will be Homasi against Brandon Thatch while Alex Garcia will take on Mike Pyle and Tim Means will knuckle up with Alex Oliveira.