News Wonderboy vs Geoff Neal targeted for Dec. 19. Same card as Chimaev vs Edwards

[bjjHERRERA]

sick fight- not sure who to favor here

 

[Prince Nephilim]

This is the cool fight nobody asked for

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Hmmm... my first instinct was to say WB's about get his block smacked into the stands, but he does seem to do well against these kind of aggressors. The way he schooled Mas and Luque recently... That said, if Pettis can finish him, he better not let a single one land from Geoff.

Spoiler

They'd all beat him.

I mean Pettis perfectly timed wonderboy walking in and threw his entire body off the cage at him. It's not a normal punch.

Skill over power is a safe bet here.

 

[Gio]

I'm thinking WB by decision. If Neal would win this, he should finish WB. It's crazy that WB vs Edwards should be fighting and also Chimaev vs Neal

 

[drbolony]

That's a really good fight for gaging where both guys are at in their career. Thompson will be tested against an athletically gifted basic striker, while Neal's IQ and instincts will be tested against the more seasoned stand up fighter.

I like, looking forward to this one. I'm going Wonderboy by finish, but I'm not counting Neal out, really like him too.

 

[Kono dio da!]

I agree. Neal is on a great roll, and he looks like he has a lot of potential, but his best win so far is Belal Muhammad. That's a win to be proud of for sure, but Wonderboy is a HUGE step up in competition.

Playa! Plus if wonderboy wins he will make neal look bad.

 

[McGeezle]

Rather just see Wonderboy vs Edwards. Wtf they doing

 

[Herwald]

I mean Pettis perfectly timed wonderboy walking in and threw his entire body off the cage at him. It's not a normal punch.

Skill over power is a safe bet here.

Won't argue with that. Not for nothing, Nate agreed with you as well.

 

[fight_fiend]

So is this some king of mini 4 guys title eliminator ? Winner of Neal vs Wonderboy face winner of the GOAT vs Edwards. Losers face each other
Winner of winner vs winner get a title shot against whoever is champion then (Snoozeman should fight Burns in the meantime)

Only issue with this is that Wonderboy probably doesn't deserve a title shot right now but hey..if the guy can beat two of Neal/Edwards/GOAT then he's certainly back in the picture

Was thinking the same scenario of winners and losers fighting. But it only works if your boy wins. If Leon wins he won't want anything to do with WB or Neal.

 

[dragovic]

This makes it easy for Dana to not give Edwards a title shot if beats Chimaev.

 

[The_Renaissance]

That's a fucking good fight, that.

 

[Lasse Stefanz]

Hmmm... my first instinct was to say WB's about get his block smacked into the stands, but he does seem to do well against these kind of aggressors. The way he schooled Mas and Luque recently... That said, if Pettis can finish him, he better not let a single one land from Geoff.

He schooled Gamebred recently? It was three years ago and before Masvidal went on his impressive tear.

Edit: I realise now you probably meant just Luque.

 

[Joshua Judd]

Thompson is my boy but he’s gonna have to be on his A game here, Neal has got them paws for sure. At the same time you come in head hunting against wonderboy you’re gonna end up on your ass, of course you’ll get helped up and get a high five after but that initial side kick is gonna sting.

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

Neal needs to not be compared to Luque. He’s something else and much more than an “aggressive boxer”. He’s a special talent.

Mike Perry isn’t the most skilled but he makes guys like Ponzi and Luque look average even while losing. He’s got a way of making some superior fighters fight not to the best of their abilities on the feet, but not Neal. Perry got starched with ease.

Wonder boy is his hardest match up so far, but he’s hittable. I think his best days are behind him. Wonderboys style doesn’t age very well and while he beat Luque decisively, he had some scares along the way. I could just be optimistic and looking for holes cause I’m a fan of Neal’s, but I see them. The fight worries me for sure because like I said, this is obviously Neal’s hardest match up so far (and an excellent test), but I’m cautiously going with him to pick up the win.

I’m clearly biased, but I’ll say it. He’s coming for that belt soon after this! Get ready.

Cosigned, been on the Geoff wagon since he debuted. Hes a fantastic southpaw with exemplary shot selections and reads. And as you said, he sprinted through Perry.

Neal vs. Khamzat for the belt 2022, I'm putting it out there

 

[brackis1]

Hopefully this is a 4 man tourney for a title shot essentially.

 

[Jose Beehive]

Very unconfidently voted Geoff Neal, who knows.

 

[Moeshaak Hammer]

I think its funny seeing all these ranked guys being treated like second class members and the card being built around a guy who has just joined the company and is unranked.

Khamzat (Hamza) Chimaev is getting the royal treatment. the guy that turned him down will have to fight under him. lol

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Geoff Neal is legit, but i think he loses to Wonderboy

Yea I have to admit that I don’t love this fight. I’m very high on Neal, but Wonderboy is the classic example of a veteran who can make almost anyone look mediocre and boring.

At some point WB’s reflexes are going to slow and he’s going to start getting hit clean and probably knocked out by guys like Geoff. Could start now I guess.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

I could see it looking similar to the Masvidal and Luque fights. Would like to see Neal pull it off though. Wonderboy has shown several times he can be hurt. Interesting fight.

I could see that too, especially in a three round fight. It took Woodley into the 4th round (if I remember correctly) to hurt WB in either fight. The Till fight was incredibly tactical, and Till didn’t land a big shot until the championship rounds. Pettis got chewed up until landing one good shot out of nowhere at the end of the 2nd (whether you think he finally got the timing down or WB just let his guard down, it took a full ten minutes).

Other than Pettis, I’m not sure anyone has ever gotten to WB in the standup within three rounds. And he usually makes it look quite easy.

IMO WB has become underrated at the moment. Luque is on fire right now and WB completely destroyed him. I worried that as soon as he put pressure on himself to step up the volume (which he was naturally going to do after tough decisions went against him in the Woodley and Till fights) he would start getting caught and hurt. But that wasn’t the case at all against Luque. Neal is faster, so this will be a great test.

 

[RemyR]

Hate to say it but Wonderboy getting up there in age. Love seeing him fight but don’t think he can do it at the highest level much longer. Hope he’s not on a decline.