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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 17: Geoff Neal prepares to face Ian Garry of Ireland in their welterweight fight during UFC 298 at Honda Center on February 17, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
On August 15, the UFC heads to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for UFC 330. In the welterweight division, two veterans look to get back on track as Geoff Neal faces Chidi Njokuani at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Multiple sources have confirmed the matchup to Heavy.com. Both fighters will look to snap their respective two-fight losing streaks.
For Geoff Neal, losing to Chidi Njokuani is not an option. The 35-year-old fighter out of Austin, Texas, was, for a long time, one of the up-and-coming fighters in the top 15 in the welterweight division. Neal came into the UFC via the first season of the Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017. On short notice, he made short work of Chase Waldon and punched his ticket to the UFC. Neal became an overnight sensation in the UFC with five consecutive wins, including head kick knockouts over Frank Camacho and Mike Perry. He also beat later champion Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision.
In 2020, Neal lost for the first time in the UFC, dropping a unanimous decision against former title challenger Stephen Thompson. After also losing to Neil Magny, Neal had to make sure to get back on track to remain in the top 15 of the welterweight division. Neal beat Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision, but followed up with a spectacular knockout win against Vicente Luque. After a thrilling ‘Fight of the Night’ war against Shavkat Rakhmonov that ended in a stoppage loss, Neal dropped a tight split decision to Ian Machado Garry. Facing a potential three-fight skid, the American bounced back against Rafael dos Anjos.
He secured the victory and broke his losing streak after an early leg injury forced dos Anjos out of the fight. Unfortunately for Neal, he was on the wrong end of a bad knockout loss against Carlos Prates last year. Neal later revealed in an interview with MMA journalist James Lynch that he had quietly battled drug and alcohol addiction for five years, but has finally achieved sobriety. In his most recent fight, Neal got knocked out by Uroš Medić. The loss dropped him out of the rankings for the first time in years. Neal needs to win against Chidi Njokuani to make his way back in those rankings.
The 37-year-old Njokuani, out of Dallas, Texas, also looks to break his losing streak against Neal. Just like Neal, Njokuani also earned his shot in the UFC through the Contender Series. The only difference was that Njokuani already had over 25 fights under his belt, fighting for promotions like Bellator MMA and the RFA. In 2021, Njokuani beat Mario Sousa in the third round via TKO and got awarded his ticket to the UFC. Njokuani made an immediate impact during his 2022 debut year, capturing two ‘Performance of the Night’ awards and one ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. Unfortunately for Njokuani, that final bonus came in a grueling, back-and-forth loss to Gregory Rodrigues.
Njokuani struggled in 2023 and lost two more fights, which made him decide to leave the middleweight division and drop down to welterweight. It looked like the right decision for the veteran. Njokuani beat Rhys McKee and Jared Gordon in 2024 and started 2025 with a big finish over Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos. With three consecutive wins, Njokuani was aiming for a shot at the rankings. In the Summer of 2025, Njokuani suffered a quick loss against Jake Matthews, breaking his streak. In his most recent outing, Njokuani suffered another setback, dropping a unanimous decision to Carlos Leal. Now scheduled to face Geoff Neal, Njokuani hopes to get back into the win column with a victory over his fellow Texas native.
Marcel Dorff Marcel Dorff covers Mixed Martial Arts & Soccer for Heavy.com. He has covered MMA on a professional level since 2022. More about Marcel Dorff
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