Neal vs Rakhmonov

Who won Neal vs Rakhmonov?

Shavkat Rakhmonov beat Geoff Neal by submission in the 3rd round during the main card of UFC 285, on Saturday 4th March 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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 Rakhmonov stats

Geoff Neal stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 2 by submission.

Shavkat Rakhmonov made his way to the cage with an unblemished record of 16 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 8 by submission.

This was Geoff Neal's 12th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Shavkat Rakhmonov marked his 7th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Geoff Neal's UFC record stood at 8-4-0, while Shavkat Rakhmonov's came in at 7-0-0.

The stats suggested Neal had a slight advantage in power over Rakhmonov, with a 60% knock out percentage over Rakhmonov's 50%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Rakhmonov had a massive advantage over Neal, boasting a 50% submission rate over Neal's 13%.

Geoff Neal was the older man by 4 years, at 34 years old.

Rakhmonov had a height advantage of 2 inches over Neal. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Neal was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 2 years and 1 month earlier than Rakhmonov, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 50 to Rakhmonov's 34.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Shavkat Rakhmonov had been fighting more than Geoff Neal.

Going to this contest, Geoff Neal had last fought 3 years, 7 months and 22 days ago, while Shavkat Rakhmonov's last outing had been 2 years, 6 months and 5 days ago.

Neal's last 3 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 5 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 9 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.3 rounds on average.

Rakhmonov's last 3 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 5 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.7 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Neal vs Rakhmonov?

Geoff Neal was a 7/2 (+350) underdog going into the contest, while Shavkat Rakhmonov made his way into the ring at 11/50 (-450) with oddsmakers.