Neal vs Anjos

Who won Neal vs Anjos?

Geoff Neal beat Rafael dos Anjos by knockout in the 1st round during the prelims of UFC 308, on Saturday 26th October 2024 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Neal vs Anjos stats

Geoff Neal stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 2 by submission.

Rafael dos Anjos made his way to the cage with a record of 32 wins, 16 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 11 by submission.

This was Geoff Neal's 12th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Rafael dos Anjos marked his 36th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2008.

Geoff Neal's UFC record stood at 8-4-0, while Rafael dos Anjos' came in at 21-15-0.

The stats suggested Neal had a massive power advantage over Anjos, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Anjos' 16%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Anjos had a large advantage over Neal, boasting a 34% submission rate over Neal's 13%.

Geoff Neal was the younger man by 6 years, at 34 years old.

Neal had a height advantage of 3 inches over Anjos. That also extended to a 5-inch reach advantage.

Neal was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 27 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 7 years and 11 months later than Anjos, whose first professional fight was in 2004. He had fought 90 less professional rounds, 50 to Anjos' 140.

Neal vs Anjos form

Neal had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Ian Machado Garry at UFC 298 on 17th February 2024 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Honda Center, Anaheim, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by submission in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had won against Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on 6th August 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had been defeated by Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 26 on 8th May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Rafael dos Anjos had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 299 on 9th March 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kaseya Center, Miami, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night – Luque vs Dos Anjos on 12th August 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Bryan Barberena at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland on 3rd December 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at Amway Center, Orlando.

Before that, he had been defeated by Rafael Fiziev at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev on 9th July 2022 by knockout in the 5th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Renato Moicano at UFC 272 on 5th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Rafael dos Anjos had been fighting more than Geoff Neal.

Going to this contest, Geoff Neal had last fought 1 year, 1 month and 13 days ago, while Rafael dos Anjos' last outing had been 1 year and 21 days ago.

Neal's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 10 months and 22 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Anjos' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

What time did Neal vs Anjos start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 5:20 PM UTC , which was 1:20 PM EST or 10:20 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 6:20 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Neal vs Anjos?

Geoff Neal was a 33/100 (-300) favourite going into the contest, while Rafael dos Anjos made his way into the ring at 47/20 (+230) with oddsmakers.