Geoff Neal has opened up about the personal battles he’s been fighting outside the Octagon.
The UFC welterweight division remains a mix of fresh faces and experienced names, with several veterans still holding their place in the rankings.
Neal, who debuted in the Octagon nine years ago, is one of those veterans. He’s currently ranked 12th at 170 pounds and continues to be a presence in the division.
While he started his UFC career with five straight wins, consistency has been hard to find since then. Neal has dropped five of his last eight fights.
Behind that slide in form was a serious issue away from fighting that Neal was dealing with during that period.
Geoff Neal admits addiction struggles left him unprepared for UFC fights
Neal’s last victory came against Rafael dos Anjos in 2024, his only win in four recent outings.
His bid to build momentum was halted when Carlos Prates stopped him at UFC 319 last August, denying the Texan back-to-back wins for the first time since 2022.
Speaking to James Lynch of Home of Fight, Neal opened up about the issues that have made consistency hard to come by. The 35-year-old explained how addiction had impacted his preparation, saying he often entered training camps out of shape.
“This is my first time opening up about it, so it’s kind of weird,” Neal said. “I had a problem with addiction: drugs and alcohol. It was rough. It was five years of it.”
“Within that time, the longest I was sober was two weeks, and those two weeks were usually before a fight. I would only slow down two weeks before the fight.”{{INSTAGRAM_PLACEHOLDER_3}}
“I’d come into fights underprepared and out of shape. It was rough,” he added.
Lately though, Neal has been making steady progress in his recovery and recently hit a milestone with over three months sober.
He credits much of his improvement to following principles from ‘75 Hard,’ although he adjusted parts of the program to fit his needs.
“We did more of a 75 Soft. There were certain things, like the reading, I was like, ‘F*ck that’. But most of it I did.
Geoff Neal set for UFC Houston return
Neal’s next fight isn’t far off, giving him a quick opportunity to get back in the win column following his recent progress away from the Octagon.
He’s scheduled to face Uros Medic at UFC Houston on February 21, with the bout taking place at the Toyota Center.
The 32-year-old Serbian has put together two straight first-round finishes over Gilbert Urbina and Muslim Salikhov since that loss. Now, he’ll look to build on that momentum against Neal.
The matchup offers Medic a shot at cracking the rankings, while Neal will be aiming to prove his form is returning along with his health.
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