Geoff Neal’s scheduled bout with Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 is still scheduled to occur despite a recent run-in with the law
Neal, 31, was arrested in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving on misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
MMA Junkie obtained a document from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office which confirmed that Neal was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety at 3:47 a.m on Nov. 25. He was booked into the Collin County Jail. He was released that same day at 8:08 p.m. after posting a bond set at $1,000 for each offense.
Falling on Hard Times
Neal was on a five-fight win streak in the UFC until a loss to Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision on Dec. 19, 2020. This past May, Neal again lost by decision to Neal Magny. This is the first two-fight skid of his career. His victories prior to the last two bouts include wins over Belal Muhammad, Niko Price, and Mike Perry.
It has been a tough road for Neal lately. In August 2020, he discussed his fight with septicemia, a life-threatening complication from an infection. Neal was in intensive care for nearly a week. After his loss to Neal Magny in May, he commented that his “body hasn’t been right” since dealing with the infection.
No further details are available at the time of this writing. Neal has yet to comment on the arrest and the UFC has not announced any changes to his bout at UFC 269.
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