Geoff Neal was in a very close fight against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269. The bout was his opportunity to get his career back on track and become a title contender.
The first two rounds were very close at UFC 269. Most people had Neal winning the first round and Poniznibbio winning the second. It seemed like the Texas-based welterweight was starting to get tired towards the end of the second round. His coach, Sayif Saud was having none of it as he could be heard screaming: ‘you're not tired!'
The corner advice heading into the third round was very intense as Sayif Saud knew his pupil needed some sort of extra motivation. The corner advice was loud and clear as Saud screamed in Geoff Neal's face at UFC 269.
The UFC welterweight came out and dominated the third round and won the fight. He admitted the corner advice was actually a huge help.
“It jarred me a lot. He was being truthful,” Neal said of the corner talk during a post-fight interview. “I needed that round. Just in case a judge wanted to pull split-decision bullshitt, I had to take that round.”
The results surprised Geoff Neal as he heard one judge scored the fight for Santiago Ponzinibbio. He thought he had done enough for all three judges to agree.
“I thought I had done enough. I was kind of confused on the split decision,” Neal said. “I thought I won three rounds, maybe the first round could have swung either way. Maybe that takedown might have had (an impact), but it was insignificant — I got right up. I felt like I won all three rounds.”
Geoff Neal now has his first ranked win in the UFC. He will be looking to get back quickly in order to eventually earn a title shot.
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