With UFC 202 rapidly approaching, naturally most, if not all the focus has been on the epic showdown between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz in the PPV’s main event. However, for Cody “No Love” Garbrandt and Neil Magny, the stakes are incredibly high. Both fighters are knocking on the door of title contention.

UFC Fight Pass Prelims Headliner: Neil Magny vs. Lorenz Larkin

Headlining the UFC Fight Pass prelims, #7 ranked, UFC Welterweight Neil Magny will be squaring off against heavy hitting Lorenz Larkin. Magny, who has won ten of his last eleven bouts, will be looking to make a statement. He hopes a victory over Larkin will propel him into the title scene.

Once the owner a seven fight win streak, a submission loss to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace Damian Maia slowed Magny’s meteoric rise. However, it did not take 29 year old very long to get back in the winners column. Since the loss to Maia, Magny is currently riding a three fight win streak. He has victories over Erick Silva, Kelvin Gastelum and perennial contender Hector Lombard.

At UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir back in March, Magny displayed incredible resiliency. He survived an onslaught attack from Lombard to come away with a third-round TKO victory. This victory would not only be Magny’s biggest win of his young career; but also the first time Hector Lombard has been finished with strikes in his long career.

Although currently unranked according to the official UFC Rankings; Lorenz Larkin is also not to be overlooked. He will definitely be looking to halt Magny’s title aspirations at UFC 202. With a potential victory over Larkin; Magny could very well be another one or two fights away from challenging for the UFC Welterweight title.

Fox Sports 1 UFC Prelims Headliner: Cody “No Love” Garbrandt vs. Takeya Mizugaki

For Cody Garbrandt, it could be argued that the young 25-year-old is ready for a title shot now. Some would even look at his booking against Takeya Mizugaki and be puzzled by the apparent step back. The Team Alpha Male standout is coming off a first round KO victory over Thomas Almeida. The two headlined a UFC Fight Night card back in May.

To go from headlining a Fight Night main card, to headlining the UFC 202 preliminaries, could be perceived to be a step back in promotion. However, as shown by Urijah Faber, who has headlined several prelims while still being a relatively sizable draw, sometimes being the main event on free TV is quite advantageous.

Garbrandt will be looking to clinch his tenth straight victory against Mizugaki. He will also be looking to end it, in typical No Love fashion, with a highlight reel finish. By making quick work of Mizugaki, Garbrandt will likely be the next in line to challenge UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz. He has publicly stated he would be interested in said fight.

A Potential Title Shot

For Cruz and Garbrandt, aside from the notorious history that Cruz has with Team Alpha Male, stylistically, the two fighters match up quite well with each other. The technical mastery of Cruz and the buzz-saw style of Garbrandt will certainly draw a significant amount of attention and interest.

Outside of perhaps a super fight with UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, this is the most alluring championship fight for the UFC Bantamweight Division.

With everyone tuning in on Saturday Aug. 20 to see McGregor and Diaz settle their bitter rivalry at UFC 202, keep a watchful eye on both the UFC Fight Pass headliner as well as the Fox Sports 1 headliner. Neil Magny and Cody Garbrandt could very well be fighting for championship gold by the year’s end.

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