The welterweight fight between Neal and Rakhmonov is back on.
The UFC has rescheduled Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Originally scheduled for UFC Vegas 67, Neal was forced to withdraw against Rakhmonov after suffering an undisclosed injury. Instead of a short-notice replacement for the ‘Nomad,’ the promotion has decided to leave the pairing intact.
According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Neal vs. Rakhmonov is now set for UFC 285, the upcoming pay-per-view scheduled for March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Entering the fight on a two-fight win streak is Neal, who defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio and Vicente Luque at UFC 269 and UFC Vegas 59. Prior to that, ’Handz of Steel’ fell short to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny.
Rakhmonov is 4-0 in the UFC, finishing all of his opponents inside of two rounds. The former M-1 Global champion recently submitted Magny at UFC Vegas 57 this past June.
Neal and Rakhmonov are ranked at No. 7 and No. 10, respectively.
UFC 285 has nine confirmed fights, with Neal vs. Rakhmonov, Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis and Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett among its highlights. The rest of the line-up is as follows:
- Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
- Farid Basharat vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
- Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
- Amanda Ribas vs. Viviane Araújo
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Julio Arce
- Julian Marquez vs. Marc-André Barriault
- Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
- Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
- Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more updates to the event as they become available in the coming weeks.