It appears Geoff Neal may have found an ally in Sean Strickland.
Strickland ripped Ian Machado Garry (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) for sporting a T-shirt with Neal’s mugshot on it when the pair originally was scheduled to fight this past August at UFC 292. Neal (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) withdrew and was replaced by Neil Magny, whom Garry dominated.
Neal and Garry have been rebooked for UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, Calif. Neal said former middleweight champion Strickland reached out to him about Garry.
“He just asked if it was OK if he posted his mugshot with mine, and I was like, ‘I don’t care,'” Neal said in an interview with Fanatics View. “We talked recently. I’ve hit him up after a few of his fights. (I) wanted to go train with him because I see his sparring videos and I like the way he spars, and I do one day want to get in there and mix it up with him and train with him.”
Despite the backlash, Garry’s antics haven’t stopped. He’s still selling merchandise with Neal’s mugshot on it, as well as taunting him about his struggles with COVID. However, Neal isn’t interested in going back-and-forth with the brash rising star.
“I’m not going to engage in too much trash talk,” Neal said. “I’ve never been that type of person, but it’s entertaining, him talking sh*t. But the fans (have) got my back on this one. I don’t got to say sh*t anymore.”
Trash talk aside, Neal sees Garry as a formidable opponent.
“It’s two strikers going at it,” Neal said. “He’s real technical and rangy on the outside, so I’m just going to have to get in there and make it dirty, make it ugly, push the pressure, push the pace, test my COVID lung and see how much pace I can push on him.”
Neal’s power has wobbled the likes of top contender Belal Muhammad and Vicente Luque, and he expects to do the same to Garry.
“I feel like I’m going to take him out in the second round … second round, maybe early third round,” Neal said. “… It’ll be satisfying for sure, but I feel like it’s the perfect fight for me for right now. He has a big name and he has a lot of hate, but hopefully I can get some more clout, I guess you can say.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
