Geoff Neal

Geoffrey Neal (born August 28, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 19, 2020, he is #11 in the UFC welterweight rankings.[4]

Geoff Neal
Geoff Neal at UFC 228
Born (1990-08-28) August 28, 1990
Austin, Texas, United States
Other namesHandz of Steel
ResidenceDallas, Texas, United States
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
StyleMixed martial arts
StanceSouthpaw
Fighting out ofHarker Heights, Texas, United States
TeamFortis MMA[1]
TrainerSayif Saud[1]
RankBlue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2]
Years active2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins13
By knockout8
By submission2
By decision3
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision1
Amateur record
Total7
Wins6
By knockout5
Losses1
Other information
OccupationServer and bartender[3]
UniversityTexas Lutheran
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Neal was born in Austin, Texas, United States.[5] He played football at private university Texas Lutheran. However, he did not like the football program there and transitioned to compete in MMA, coached under Sayif Saud.[1]

Career

Early career

Neal made his amateur debut in 2010, a second-round win by knockout 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.[6]

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series

Neal appeared in DWTNCS: Season 1, Episode 3 program and faced Chase Waldon. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round[7] and was signed by UFC.[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Neal made his promotional debut on February 18, 2018 against Brian Camozzi at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros.[9] He won the bout via submission in the first round.[10]

Neal next faced Frank Camacho on September 8, 2018 at UFC 228.[11] He won the fight via knockout in the second round.[12]

Neal faced Belal Muhammad on January 19, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw.[13] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[14]

Neal faced Niko Price on July 27, 2019 at UFC 240.[15] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[16] This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.[17]

Neal faced Mike Perry on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245.[18] He won the fight via first round technical knockout.[19]

Neal was expected to face Neil Magny on August 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175.[20] However, Neal withdrew from the event due to health issues and he was replaced by Robbie Lawler.[21]

Neal faced Stephen Thompson on December 19, 2020 in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 183.[22] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[23]

Personal life

Neal worked as a server at a Texas Roadhouse in Dallas for ten years until his fight with Mike Perry in late 2019.[24][25][26] However, in June 2020, Neal announced he had returned to his job as a server after failing to get a fight scheduled.[27]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
16 matches 13 wins 3 losses
By knockout 8 1
By submission 2 1
By decision 3 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 13–3 Stephen Thompson Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal December 19, 2020 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 13–2 Mike Perry TKO (head kick and punches) UFC 245 December 14, 2019 1 1:30 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 12–2 Niko Price TKO (punches) UFC 240 July 27, 2019 2 2:39 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Performance of the Night.
Win 11–2 Belal Muhammad Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw January 19, 2019 3 5:00 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 10–2 Frank Camacho KO (head kick) UFC 228 September 8, 2018 2 1:23 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 9–2 Brian Camozzi Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros February 18, 2018 1 2:48 Austin, Texas, United States
Win 8–2 Chase Waldon TKO (punches) Dana White's Contender Series 3 July 25, 2017 1 1:56 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Middleweight bout.
Win 7–2 Bilal Williams TKO (punches) LFA 16 July 14, 2017 1 4:43 Dallas, Texas, United States
Loss 6–2 Kevin Holland TKO (punches) Xtreme Knockout 34 January 28, 2017 3 3:50 Dallas, Texas, United States For the vacant XKO Welterweight Championship.
Win 6–1 Ty Flores TKO (punches) Rumble Time Promotions October 23, 2015 1 3:58 St. Charles, Missouri, United States
Win 5–1 Charlie Ontiveros TKO (retirement) Legacy FC 37 November 14, 2014 2 5:00 Houston, Texas, United States Catchweight (172 lb) bout; Neal missed weight.
Win 4–1 Christopher Anthony Decision (unanimous) Legacy FC 32 June 20, 2014 3 5:00 Bossier City, Louisiana, United States
Win 3–1 Armando Servin Decision (unanimous) Xtreme Knockout 19 August 17, 2013 3 3:00 Dallas, Texas, United States
Loss 2–1 Martin Sano Submission (rear-naked choke) 24/7 Entertainment 9 April 19, 2013 3 1:25 Odessa, Texas, United States Return to Welterweight; Neal missed weight (172 lb).
Win 2–0 Zack Board TKO (punches) Xtreme Knockout 17 January 12, 2013 2 1:46 Arlington, Texas, United States Middleweight debut.
Win 1–0 David McAfee Submission (rear-naked choke) Xtreme Combar Productions: Blood & Glory August 25, 2012 1 2:15 Robstown, Texas, United States Welterweight debut.

[6]

See also

References
  1. Golden, Cedric. "Golden: Restaurant by day, UFC by night suits Geoff Neal fine — for now". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  2. "Geoff Neal - Official UFC Profile". UFC.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  3. Gallo, Ed (2018-02-18). "Fighter of Interest: Geoff Neal". MMASucka.com. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  4. "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  5. "Geoff Neal". UFC. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. "Geoff "Handz of Steel" Neal MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. Baldwin, Nick (2017-07-25). "Contender Series results: Roberson finishes Spann in 15 seconds". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  8. Segura, Danny (2017-07-25). "DWTNCS 3 results: Karl Roberson, Geoffrey Neal earn UFC contracts after quick finishes". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  9. "Contender Series's Geoff Neal Set to Make UFC Debut Against Brian Camozzi in Austin - MMA Today". MMA Today. 2017-12-28. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  10. "UFC Fight Night 126 results: Geoff Neal has 'Handz of Steel' vs. Brian Camozzi, but choke that's real". MMAjunkie. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  11. Mark Francescutti (2018-07-18). "UFC 228 in Dallas bouts revealed". sportsday.dallasnews.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  12. "UFC 228 results: Geoff Neal scores vicious high-kick finish of Frank Camacho". MMAjunkie. 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  13. Mark La Monica (2018-11-06). "UFC on ESPN+ in Brooklyn gets its first scheduled bout". newsday.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  14. Dave Doyle (2019-01-19). "UFC Brooklyn results: Geoff Neal scores impressive win over Belal Muhammad". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  15. Farah Hannoun (2018-06-26). "Geoff Neal to fight Niko Price at UFC 240 in Edmonton". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  16. Evanoff, Josh (2019-07-27). "UFC 240 Results: Geoff Neal Finishes Niko Price". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  17. Hiergesell, Dan (2019-07-28). "UFC 240 Bonuses! Neal's Vicious TKO Finish Leads $50K Winners". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  18. Cruz, Guilherme (2019-10-31). "Mike Perry vs. Geoff Neal booked for UFC 245 in December". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  19. Anderson, Jay (15 December 2019). "UFC 245 Results: Geoff Neal Takes Just 90 Seconds to Stop Mike Perry". Cageside Press. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  20. DNA, MMA (2020-08-07). "Geoff Neal treft Neil Magny tijdens UFC evenement op 29 augustus". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  21. DNA, MMA (2020-08-10). "BREAKING: UFC werkt aan partij tussen Robbie Lawler en Neil Magny voor 29 augustus". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  22. "Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal in the works for UFC on ESPN+ 44 on Dec. 19". MMA Junkie. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  23. Doherty, Dan (2020-12-19). "UFC Vegas 17 Results: Stephen Thompson Dominates Geoff Neal With Expert Striking". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  24. Morgan, John (17 January 2019). "UFC's Geoff Neal won't quit server job until he's got $1 million in the bank". MMAJunkie. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  25. "Geoff Neal ("Handz of Steel") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  26. Damon Martin (December 13, 2019). "Geoff Neal finally quit his job as a server, now he's solely focused on conquering the UFC's best". mmafighting.com.
  27. Fernando Quiles Jr. (June 23, 2020). "Geoff Neal Not Happy With UFC Layoff, Returns To Second Job". MMANews.com.
  28. Hiergesell, Dan (2019-07-28). "UFC 240 Bonuses! Neal's Vicious TKO Finish Leads $50K Winners". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  29. Nolan King (January 4, 2020). "MMA Junkie's 2019 'Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year': Geoff Neal". mmajunkie.com.
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