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 loses 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 and 0 draws, with 8 of those by knock out and 8 by submission.

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, boosting at 50% submission rate over Neal's 13%.

Geoff Neal was the older man by 4 years, at 33 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 20 more professional rounds, 49 to Rakhmonov's 29.

Neal vs Rakhmonov form

Neal had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this 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, United States.

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

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 26 on 8th May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had lost to Stephen Thompson at UFC Vegas 17 on 19th December 2020 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had beat Niko Price at UFC 240 on 27th July 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Rogers Place, Edmonton, Canada.

Activity check

Neal's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

Rakhmonov's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 18 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 6 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.