In a battle of welterweight prospects, Geoff Neal finished Niko Price in the second round after a back and forth war.
An undefeated record in the UFC for Geoff Neal. A perfect finishing rate when winning for Niko Price since joining the promotion. That’s what was going head-to-head at UFC 240 in Edmonton on Saturday, when Neal and Price threw down as part of the main card, airing live on PPV.
Price was entering the night off a Performance bonus-winning effort against Tim Means at UFC Wichita. Neal, meanwhile, had won his first three UFC scraps after coming in off the Contender Series. His most recent victory was a unanimous decision against Belal Muhammad at UFC Brooklyn.
Neal started the fight by getting the clinch, then getting a slam takedown on Price. He had the arm under the chin as he had the back, but Price would get the fight back to the feet. Niko started to land some strikes, including a big knee to Neal. Neal countered with a hard straight left then got into the clinch. Price landed a big high kick that seemed to stun Neal, Neal went down and Price tried to follow up with some ground and pound. Neal survived and got back to his feet, where he took down Price and got him in mount. The round came to a close prior to him doing much damage.
Price took a hard left hand to open the round, he then began brawling and rocked Neal with his powerful hooks. Neal goes down and Price looks for the guillotine, Neal survived and ended up on top. Neal ended up in guard and started raining down with hard shots on Price. Neal’s corner kept yelling for him to pass guard, but Neal would reject that advice. He would instead land brutal ground and pound, which would rock Price and cause the referee to wave off the bout.
Geoff Neal went through a war for the first time in his UFC career and came out on top. Incredible fight, and a good performance by Geoff Neal.
Geoff Neal def. Niko Price via TKO, Round 2, 2:39
