STAMFORD, Conn. – When Grant Neal’s football dreams were ripped away from him, he eventually turned to MMA.
On Saturday, Neal (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was scheduled to try to make a big first impression on the Bellator brass against Alpha Toure (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a light heavyweight bout on the Bellator 225 prelims. But a Bellator official told MMA Junkie on Friday that Toure pulled out of the fight due to personal reasons, leaving Neal without a fight and now waiting to find out when he can get rebooked.
A former running back standout for the University of Colorado-Pueblo, Neal was kicked off the football team and out of school after a sexual misconduct charge – a charge he fought and ultimately was found to have no wrongdoing in, but still was left without any kind of hearing and a scar on his resume that was tough to recover from. Now he’s trying to make his mark in the cage.
Bellator 225 takes place Saturday at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Check out what Neal had to say about overcoming adversity, as well as his journey to MMA, in the video above.
