Geoff Neal Offers Prediction for Upcoming UFC 298 Clash vs. Ian Garry

Geoff Neal is determined to not let his upcoming UFC 298 meeting with Ian Garry go the distance.

Garry and Neal were initially slated to compete at UFC 292 in August. However, Neal was forced to pull out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was eventually replaced by Neil Magny.

Garry then went on to record a unanimous decision win against Magny in a dominant showing and has now been rebooked to face Neal at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 after being forced out of his UFC 296 clash with Vicente Luque due to a severe case of pneumonia during fight week.

Infamous for his trash talk and antics, the undefeated Garry has grabbed any and every opportunity available to belittle and intimidate his opponent, including selling T-shirts with Neal’s mugshot on them.

Neal doesn't seem to be perturbed by Garry’s actions outside the Octagon and is looking forward to capitalizing on all the attention on “The Future” by finishing the Irishman before the final horn has blown.

“I’m not going to engage in too much trash talk... I’ve never been that type of person, but it’s entertaining, him talking s—t. But the fans [have] got my back on this one. I don’t got to say s—t anymore,” said Neal in an interview with Fanatics View.

Neal will enter the bout against Garry on the heels of a Round 3 submission loss against another undefeated contender in Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285 last year. Prior to that, the American was on two-fight win streak that included a Round 3 knockout win over Vicente Luque.

Neal is also well aware of Garry’s strengths, but he has a plan to negate what his opponent does well.

“He’s real technical and rangy on the outside, so I’m just going to have to get in there and make it dirty, make it ugly, push the pressure, push the pace, test my COVID lung and see how much pace I can push on him,” Neal said.

Despite Garry’s fighting prowess, Neal is confident he will emerge victorious against the Irishman on fight night.

“I feel like I’m going to take him out in the second round … second round, maybe early third round,” Neal said. "It’ll be satisfying for sure, but I feel like it’s the perfect fight for me for right now. He has a big name and he has a lot of hate, but hopefully I can get some more clout, I guess you can say.”

UFC 298 is set to be headlined by a featherweight title clash between reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated Spaniard Ilia Topuria, while former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will face former title challenger Paulo Costa in the co-main event of the evening.