By the time he steps into the cage on Saturday to face Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, it will have been 371 days since Geoff Neal’s last appearance and given everything that has transpired in the leap year plus five days since he pushed his UFC record to 5-0, reminding you of his exploits and highlighting his achievements here only made sense.
A member of the inaugural graduating class from the Contender Series, the 30-year-old Fortis MMA product earned a pair of stoppage wins during his rookie campaign in the Octagon and followed it up with consecutive victories over Belal Muhammad, Niko Price, and Mike Perry in his sophomore season. The fight with Muhammad was a gritty, tenacious effort that showed Neal is more than just a knockout artist, and the victories over Price and Perry, both of which came inside the distance, were reminders that his nickname “Handz of Steel” is rather apt.
Neal was slated to face Neil Magny earlier this year but was forced out of the contest when he was forced into the hospital due to a non-COVID illness. The surging welterweight made a full recovery and looks to pick up where he left off against Perry when he returns to action opposite Thompson on Saturday.
Each step in Neal’s UFC career thus far has been perfectly timed and he’s passed each test with flying colors, working his way up the divisional ladder incrementally, posting strong performance after strong performance as the competition continued to get tougher. He mauled Perry last December, dispatching “Platinum” in 90 seconds flat and now sits on the cusp of the Top 10 heading into Saturday’s headlining tilt with the former title challenger.
After a harrowing year, closing things out with a sixth straight UFC victory while earning a place in the title conversation would be a massive achievement for Neal. Thompson is a difficult riddle to solve, but if Neal can close the distance, he has the striking skills to put “Wonderboy” and anyone else in the division to sleep in a hurry.
