Geoffrey Charles Neal (born August 28, 1990) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background

Neal was born in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He played football at

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

university

Texas Lutheran Texas Lutheran University (TLU) is a private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America university in Seguin, Texas. History The university traces its roots back to 1891, to an academy of the first German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas, in ...

. However, he did not like the football program there and transitioned to compete in MMA, coached under Sayif Saud.

Career

Early career

Neal made his amateur debut in 2010, a second-round win by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

against Bobby Hernandez. He competed in a total of 7 amateur matches, ending with a 6–1 amateur record. Before being signed by the UFC, Neal competed in a total of 10 mixed martial arts matches, winning 8 and losing 2 of them.

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series

Neal appeared on Dana White's Contender Series 3 and faced Chase Waldon. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round and was signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Neal made his promotional debut on February 18, 2018, against

Brian Camozzi Brian Camozzi (born June 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the Welterweight Champion for Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Sparta Combat League. Camozzi currently competes in Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. He won the bout via submission in the first round. Neal next faced

Frank Camacho Franklin Beldad Camacho (born May 18, 1989) is a Chamorro mixed martial artist in the lightweight division. He was a 2010 Blue Belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World champion and a 2006 Micronesian Games wrestling gold medalist. He competed in the Ultima ...

on September 8, 2018, at

UFC 228 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Neal faced

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 ...

on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Neal faced

Niko Price Nicholas Gordon Price (born September 29, 1989) is an Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and rai ...

on July 27, 2019, at

UFC 240 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This fight earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Neal faced Mike Perry on December 14, 2019, at

UFC 245 ''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. Ba ...

. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout. Neal was expected to face

Neil Magny Aoutneil "Neil" Jacques Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Magny ...

on August 29, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Neal withdrew from the event due to health issues and he was replaced by

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforc ...

. Neal faced Stephen Thompson on December 19, 2020, in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 183. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Neal faced

UFC on ESPN 24 ''UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 24'' and ''UFC Vegas 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 8, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

on May 8, 2021. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Neal faced

Santiago Ponzinibbio Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian heritage, with paternal grandpa ...

on December 11, 2021, at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. He won the back-and-forth bout via split decision. 10 out of 14 media scores gave it to Neal. Neal faced

Vicente Luque Vicente Luque (born November 27, 1991) is an American and Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, he is #9 in the UFC ...

on August 6, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 40 ''UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 40'' and ''UFC Vegas 59'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 6, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Neva ...

. He won the fight via knockout in round three. This win earned him the ''

'' award. Neal was scheduled to face

Shavkat Rakhmonov Shavkat Bakhtibaevich Rakhmonov (born October 23, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rakhmonov is also a former M-1 Global Welterw ...

on January 14, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 217 ''UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 217'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 75'' and ''UFC Vegas 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 14, 2023, at the ...

. However, on December 29, Neal pulled out due to undisclosed injury.

Championships and accomplishments

(Two times) *

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''The N ...

**2019 Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year

Personal life

Neal worked as a

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

at a

Texas Roadhouse Texas Roadhouse is an American steakhouse chain that specializes in steaks in a Texan and Southwestern cuisine style. It is a subsidiary of Texas Roadhouse Inc, which has two other concepts (Bubba's 33 and Jaggers) and is headquartered in Louisv ...

in Dallas for ten years until his fight with Mike Perry in late 2019. In June 2020, Neal revealed he had returned to his job as a server after failing to get fights scheduled. In August 2020, Neal revealed he went into

septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International Co ...

after suffering from an unspecified infection. Neal was admitted to the

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...

where it was determined he was also experiencing congestive heart and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. After taking some time to recover, Neal resumed his mixed martial arts career in December 2020. On November 25, 2021, Neal was arrested in

Collin County, Texas Collin County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States census, the county's popu ...

on charges of

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

and unlawful possession of a firearm, two

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than ad ...

s. He was later released from jail on $2,000 bond.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , , style="text-align:center" , 15–4 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 2:01 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 14–4 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center" , 13–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center" , 13–3 , Stephen Thompson , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal , , style="text-align:center" , 5 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 13–2 , Mike Perry , TKO (head kick and punches) ,

, , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 1:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 12–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 2:39 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, Canada , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 10–2 ,

, KO (head kick) ,

, , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 1:23 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 9–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 2:48 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 8–2 , Chase Waldon , TKO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 3 , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 1:56 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 7–2 , Bilal Williams , TKO (punches) , LFA 16 , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 4:43 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center" , 6–2 ,

Kevin Holland Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Holland has also competed f ...

, TKO (punches) , Xtreme Knockout 34 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 3:50 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 6–1 , Ty Flores , TKO (punches) , Rumble Time Promotions , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 3:58 , St. Charles, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 5–1 , Charlie Ontiveros , TKO (retirement) , Legacy FC 37 , , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 4–1 , Christopher Anthony , Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 32 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 5:00 ,

Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 3–1 , Armando Servin , Decision (unanimous) , Xtreme Knockout 19 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 3:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center" , 2–1 , Martin Sano , Submission (rear-naked choke) , 24/7 Entertainment 9 , , style="text-align:center" , 3 , style="text-align:center" , 1:25 ,

Odessa, Texas Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, ma ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 2–0 , Zack Board , TKO (punches) , Xtreme Knockout 17 , , style="text-align:center" , 2 , style="text-align:center" , 1:46 ,

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center" , 1–0 , David McAfee , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Combat Productions: Blood & Glory , , style="text-align:center" , 1 , style="text-align:center" , 2:15 ,

Robstown, Texas Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Corpus Christi. It was founded about 1906, and was named for Robert Driscoll. The population was 11,487 as of the 2010 census. The Texas State Legislature offici ...

, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Geoff 1990 births Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Texas American male mixed martial artists Living people Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu