EDMONTON – The slugfest UFC welterweight Geoff Neal expected against Niko Price changed when his coach switched up the plan.
“I knew he was a wild man, and my coach called an audible on the bus on the way to the fight,” he told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after a second-round TKO of Price on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 240. “He was like, ‘Hey, it might get ugly. We might have to take him down and finish him with ground and pound.'”
Neal was unable to completely avoid a slugfest. The two even clashed heads, resulting in a loss of time for Neal between rounds. He didn’t remember helping Price up at the end of the opening frame.
Neal does remember what Price said after the referee pulled him off amid a flurry of ground and pound.
“He said the ‘F’ word really loud,” Neal said with a laugh.
It might not have been the exact plan going in, but Neal is of the opinion that if someone is going to engage him on the feet, he’s going to respond in kind.
But as his coach realized with hours until showtime, opponents haven’t seen much of his ground game. Price’s previous fight against Tim Means even provided a blueprint.
“Tim took him down and got him tired and made him slower, and that’s exactly what happened,” Neal said.
At 4-0 in the UFC, Neal believes he’s ready for a top contender, though he’s not ready to call out any names. He’ll continue to work on the ground and pound that provoked an expletive from his opponent. Now, though, it won’t be so much of a secret.
For more from Neal, click on the video above.
For complete coverage of UFC 240, check out the UFC results.
