Welterweight contender Geoff Neal is of out his fight against Neil Magny after he “almost died”. Former champion Robbie Lawler is expected to step in to face Mangy on August 29 in Las Vegas.
Neal was due to have his first fight of the year. The #11 ranked welterweight had previously struggled to find an opponent after putting together a five-fight win streak which includes impressive victories over the likes of Mike Perry and Niko Price.
‘Hands of Steel’ will need to sit out a little longer after suffering from an unknown medical condition that led him on the brink of death. Neal posted two pictures to Instagram showing him looking worse for wear in a hospital bed. The images were captioned with the following statement:
“These past few week have been crazy, and that’s putting it lightly. It’s really hard to try to find an eloquent way to say “I almost died.” So screw it.. I almost died…. This really put alot of things into perspective for me. Never did I ever think I would be hooked up to a dialysis machine before my 30s. Everything was going well for me. Was training everyday, making money at work, just signed a contract for a huge fight, then BOOM, life hit me with a check hook. I’m just glad to be home after having to spend 1 week in the ICU. Stay healthy out there y’all and listen to your body at all times.”
Lawler will now step in to fight Magny on just a few weeks’ notice according to a report from MMA DNA. The former 170lb king has lost three straight fights and hasn’t won since picking up a unanimous decision victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC 214 in July 2017.
Everyone at LowKickMMA wishes Geoff Neal a speedy recovery.