Neil Magny and Geoff Neal are getting another chance to meet in the octagon.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Magny (24-8) and Neal (13-3) are finalizing talks to fight in a welterweight bout at the May 8 UFC event, with a location still to be determined.
This is a re-booking of an Aug. 29 booking that Neal was forced out of with health issues. The new date was first reported by ESPN.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Neal explained that a few weeks before he was supposed to fight Magny the first time, he was hospitalized with an illness unrelated to COVID-19.
Neil instead faced Robbie Lawler on Aug. 29. He defeated the former UFC welterweight champion by unanimous decision. In January, Neil saw a three-fight win streak snapped by a unanimous decision loss to Michael Chiesa in the main event of a UFC Fight Island 8. He has won five of his past seven fights.
Neal also seeks a bounce-back performance as he was soundly outpointed by Stephen Thompson in the main event of UFC Vegas 17 in December. It was the first UFC loss for Neal, who was 5-0 after being signed off of the Contender Series, with notable wins over Mike Perry, Niko Price, and Belal Muhammad.
The May 8 UFC event is scheduled to be headlined by a bantamweight bout between Cory Sandhagen and T.J. Dillashaw.
Alexander K. Lee contributed to this report.
