LAS VEGAS – Geoff Neal won at UFC 269. But one judge didn’t think he did enough, and that made him nervous.
In the median bout on the UFC 269 main card at T-Mobile Arena, Neal (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) via split decision, 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28).
“I’m proud of that performance,” Neal told reporters, including MMA Junkie, following the win. “I’m happy with it. I did a lot of things. I showed a lot of things. I really felt like I was just at home, you know what I mean? It felt like a real easy fight for me. Yeah, I didn’t get the finish but I felt like I was in control of the fight all three rounds and I was never in any trouble.
“I didn’t really take any damage. He kicked my leg hard a couple of times and that’s about it. … It felt comfortable. I didn’t realize there were thousands of fans. All I thought that was there was me, him, and my coaches.”
When the scorecards were read, Neal was surprised to hear that one judge, Doug Crosby, scored the fight 29-28 for Ponzinibbio.
“I was confident at first,” Neal said. “But once I saw they gave him a 29-28, I was like, ‘Am I about to get f*cked right now?’ I don’t see it as a split. I feel like I won (Rounds) 1 and 3 for sure.”
While Neal will have to go back and talk to his team before making any official decisions on his future, the Fortis MMA product would like to get back to action in early 2022.
“I’m looking to get back in February,” Neal said. “We’ll see. I’m going to talk to my coach about it. That isn’t for sure yet. But February in Houston is what I want. But me and my coach might want something else so we’ll see about that.”
To hear the full interview with Neal, check out the video above.
