Las Vegas, NV – UFC welterweight Geoff Neal will enter into a firefight at UFC Vegas 59 on Saturday night against Vicente Luque in a much anticipated co-main event slot.
Neal (14-4) is coming off a split-decision win over Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269.
“It was just important just to get back in the win column. I wasn’t satisfied with that fight. Yes he’s a tough opponent, but I go out there to finish. I want to put on something exciting. It wasn’t too exciting of a fight so I kind of let the fans down in that one. I don’t plan on doing that again,” Neal told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.
With the 8-month layoff ending this Saturday night Neal explained why he’s been gone for so long.
“I wanted to get in a little bit earlier. Actually I wanted to fight last week (UFC 277) in Dallas, that’s where I live. Everything all works out. I don’t know what my coach is doing as far as managing and talking to the match makers and stuff. I’m patient I just wait for my opportunities,” Neal said.
“I just show up, train, and fight.”
At UFC Vegas 59 his opponent is Luque who is a heavy hitter, fan favorite, and is not one to shy away from a brawl.
“He’s a great opponent. He’s very skilled. What’s crazy is we have a lot of mutual opponents, we’ve fought a lot of the same guys, so I’ve been watching him since I got in the UFC. I’ve studied a lot on him. He’s changed up his style a little bit, but Vicente is going to be Vicente. He’s going to come in, he’s going to throw those punches, he’s going to push forward,” said Neal.
“I always knew I was going to fight him. I just didn’t know when. It was destined to happen.”
With Neal currently ranked #13 and Luque #6 a win on Saturday could mean big things for “Handz Of Steel”.
“I’m just thinking about beating him. We’ll see about all that after that. Right now I’ve just got to get through him. He’s nobody to look past. He’s a dangerous dude,” Neal said.
“Once I get done with that, I’ll think about that.”
If Neal’s last fight was disappointing then he chose the right opponent for this one as Luque has not been in a boring fight during his UFC tenure.
“There’s no way it’s going to be (boring). He’s going to push forward. I could run the whole time he’s going to be right there. It’s going to be fireworks.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Geoff Neal above. UFC Vegas 59 takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday August 6th.
