Undefeated welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov steps back into the Octagon against Geoff Neal in a three-round bout scheduled for January 14th.
Originally reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the two top-10 welterweights will square off as part of a UFC Fight Night card headlined by a middleweight clash between Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov.
Coming off of the biggest win of his professional career over Vicente Luque in August, Geoff ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal looks to make it three in a row as he works his way up the rankings in hopes of securing a UFC title opportunity. After a successful showing on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, Neal scored five straight wins including victories over Belal Muhammad and current BKFC brawler Mike Perry.
Neal’s momentum was halted after back-to-back losses to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny, but he got back into the win column with a split decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio. After his third-round knockout of Luque, Neal is ready to shift the momentum back into his favorite against one of the promotion’s rising stars.
Shavkat Rakhmonov Aims to Keep His Undefeated Streak Alive Against Geoff Neal
Shavkat Rakhmonov is one of the UFC’s brightest prospects. Entering the promotion with an undefeated record of 12-0, ‘Nomad’ has added another four wins to his resume inside the Octagon, defeating Alex Oliveira, Michel Prazeres, Carlton Harris, and Neil Magny, all by way of submission or knockout.
While fans have been marveling over the rise of fellow welterweight star Khamzat Chimaev, Rakhmonov has been climbing his way up in the rankings. A win over Neal would give ‘Nomad’ the biggest win of his career and likely result in a big jump in the UFC rankings for the Uzbekistani fighter, all, but guaranteeing him a top-five opponent in his next outing. Of course, Shavkat Rakhmonov will first need to get past ‘Handz of Steal’ who steps into the cage with nine knockouts in 15 career wins.