Geoff Neal delivered the performance of his career in his most high-profile fight to date against Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN 40.
Neal’s (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) striking was crisp from the opening bell and he battered Luque (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC) with speed and power until he secured the third-round knockout win in the welterweight bout, which served as the co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
“I’ve been looking forward to fight someone like Luque,” Neal said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I had no choice but to fight, and he brought the fight out of me.”
HANDZ OF STEEL INDEED 👊 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/DaBzUhbpkK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
Neal came out of the gate looking very sharp. He staggered Luque within the first two minutes and continued to pick his shots from there. He busted open Luque’s nose with quick hands, backing the Brazilian up on multiple occasions, and scoring a big knockdown with roughly one minute left. Luque got up and kept pushing, but Neal poured it on for the remainder of the round.
Luque appeared to regain some of his composure between rounds, because in the second, he came out looking more confident in his movement and striking. Neal waited for his moment, though, and got a brief trip to the mat that showed his diversity. They moved back into the striking, and both men pressed forward and landed good shots down the stretch of a competitive second frame.
In the final round, Neal went back to his opening round look as he pressured and hurt Luque. He staggered his opponent with a multi-strike combination highlighted by a pair of vicious uppercuts, then Neal landed one final shot that faceplanted Luque in what was his first career knockout loss.
After the win, Neal called out Gilbert Burns, who is a good friend and teammate of Luque at Kill Cliff FC, and responded (via Twitter):
“I’ve been looking at Gilbert Burns,” Neal said. “I want him next.”
Finally someone called me out! About time! Congrats @handzofsteelmma ✊🏾✊🏾 Let’s see if Jorge will show up! Otherwise we might dance 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️ #UFCVegas59
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) August 7, 2022
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 40 results include:
- Geoff Neal def. Vicente Luque via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:01
- Mohammed Usman def. Zac Pauga via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:36 – to win “TUF 30” heavyweight title
- Juliana Miller def. Brogan Walker via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 3, 3:57 – to win “TUF 30” women’s flyweight title
- Serghei Spivac def. Augusto Sakai via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:42
- Terrance McKinney def. Erick Gonzalez via submission (standing rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:17
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Sam Alvey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:56
- Bryan Battle def. Takashi Sato via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:44
- Cory McKenna def. Miranda Granger via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 2, 1:03
- Mayra Bueno Silva def. Stephanie Egger via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:17
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
