Geoff Neal reveals “congestive heart failure” issues he faced prior to Thompson bout

UFC welterweight Geoff Neal recently took to Instagram and issued a statement after his defeat to Stephen Thompson at the main event of UFC Vegas 17 also called UFC Fight Night 183. Despite entering the bout with an impressive resume, the No.11 ranked fighter suffered a one-sided defeat as ‘The Wonderboy’ dominated the bout from start to finish. The UFC veteran outclassed Geoff Neal in almost every department, winning the bout by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45), despite injuring his leg in the fourth round.

This was Stephen Thompson’s second straight win, while for the ‘Handz of Steel,’ it was his first UFC loss. The Texas native has been dominating the octagon since his debut in February 2018, and according to many, Neal is a rising star, despite the recent loss. With a 5-1 UFC record (13-3 MMA record), the newcomer has won the majority of his bouts via TKO.

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Geoff Neal heart condition: Neal on adversity he faced before UFC Vegas 17

A few days after the conclusion of UFC Fight Night 183, Geoff Neal took to Instagram and opened up about his loss, claiming that he’s “proud of himself”. Neal claimed that though it’s not the “outcome I wanted but I had fun nonetheless”. He said he went through a lot leading to the fight, including sepsis and congestive heart failure.

“Some much adversity dealing leading up to this fight.. sepsis, congestive heart failure, 3 of my corners testing positive for covid, with one of them being the general Sayif Saud, but I still made that walk and fought that fight,” he wrote.

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Geoff Neal admitted that he was also not able to see from his right eye as his eye swelled up following a barrage of kicks and punches from the Wonderboy. Concluding the message, Neal thanked Stephen Thompson for taking the bout, while calling him a “true definition of a martial artist”. He also thanked his fans and colleagues who checked on him when he was being treated for congestive heart failure.

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Geoff Neal found out about the life-threatening disease in August and was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Dallas hospital. He was released from the hospital after three-and-half months and took various measures while preparing for the Thompson fight. According to reports, UFC would give Geoff Neal some off time, before announcing his next opponent.

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