Welterweights Geoff Neal, Shavkat Rakhmonov to Clash at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 14

A welterweight showdown pitting Geoff Neal against Shavkat Rakhmonov is slated for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2023.

Promotion broadcast partner ESPN was first to report that Neal and Rakhmonov will lock horns at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 14. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov.

After dropping consecutive decisions to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny, Neal has rebounded with a split decision triumph over Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269 and a knockout of Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN 40. The Fortis MMA representative has been victorious in seven of his nine Octagon appearances since earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Rakhmonov has emerged as a person of interest in the welterweight division after beginning his professional career with 16 straight triumphs. The 27-year-old Kazakhstan native is 4-0 within the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a second-round submission of Neil Magny at UFC on ESPN 38.

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