Welterweights
Geoff Neal (11-2) vs. Niko Price (13-2)Advertisement
Neal has been one of the more pleasant surprises on the UFC roster over the last year. He secured a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series but did not particularly stand out. He was exactly the type of aggressive knockout artist that would impress UFC President Dana White, but his structureless game did not portend much success on the main roster. Neal looked much the same in running over Brian Camozzi in his UFC debut, but seven months later, the Dallas native absolutely showed out in a hometown fight against Frank Camacho. It was thought that Camacho’s toughness and aggression could match Neal head-on, but “Handz of Steel” instead showed a crisp, diverse striking game and an excellent sense of range to pick apart Camacho before ending it with a highlight-reel head kick. That alone was a huge leap forward, but his January fight against Belal Muhammad put Neal on the map as a future contender. Neal kept up the improvements he showed in the Camacho fight, continuing to exhibit an excellent sense of distance on the feet. However, he added in some strong defensive wrestling and some adaptability, as he went adjustment for adjustment with one of the welterweight division’s headiest fighters. It has come absolutely out of nowhere, but the Muhammad fight was proof of concept that Neal is a force to be reckoned with going forward. With that said, the welterweight division remains ridiculously deep with dangerous opponents, and Price should serve as another tough test.
Price’s UFC career continues to defy logic to an extent. The Florida native does not have much of a game plan when he enters the cage outside of being aggressive and jumping on opportunities for a finish, but it almost does not matter thanks to his knockout power. Price’s combination of long arms and big hands gives him an ability to drop bombs that often shock his opponent, and the last few years have shown that he is dangerous in any situation. There is his surprise clanging of Alan Jouban in 2017 and the fact that he became the only person to knock out Tim Means in March, but the platonic ideal of a Price finish will probably be his 2018 win over Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night 133. There, Price somehow managed to knock out Brown while throwing hammerfists from his back. There is not much to analyze. Price hits hard, and he is also willing to go to the ground and hunt something with his power grappling game. However, as the saying goes, sometimes less is more.
This is a bit of a lateral move for Neal coming off of such a scintillating performance against Muhammad, but Price should still provide an interesting test for the Texan. Neal’s big improvement has been his sudden ability to find a range, and Price is exactly the type of weird athlete who can throw that off; the Jouban fight is probably the best example of Price’s reach and power catching a practiced opponent completely off-guard. Plus, Price is the type of one-punch knockout threat that Camacho and Muhammad simply were not, so it becomes an open question about how Neal reacts to getting hit, if he even survives the first significant blow Price lands. The pick is Neal via decision -- he is the more consistent fighter and has shown the ability to adjust to what his opponent provides -- but this is exactly the type of fight where Price’s attributes make him most dangerous.
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