SUMMARY
- Geoff Neal, known as 'Handz of Steel,' made his UFC debut in February 2018.
- Geoff Neal's nickname, "Handz of Steel," originated during a casual moment with his friend Travis Moore.
Geoff Neal is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the UFC. ‘Handz of Steel’, aka Geoff Neal made his UFC promotional debut in February 2018. Geoff is ranked at #8 in the welterweight division of the UFC. However, there was a time in his career when he could’ve secured a title shot in the division. But it wasn’t meant to be.
The Texas-born fighter boasts a professional MMA record of 15-5-0. He had 10 professional fights on his resume before signing with the UFC. Out of these 10 were 8 wins and just the 2 losses. He won in his first appearance on the Dana White Contender Series season 1 week 3 in July 2017, with a first-round TKO victory which got him a place on the UFC roster.
The 33-year-old fighter made a blistering start to his UFC career after winning his first 5 fights in the UFC. This win streak gave him a wonderful opportunity to face off against another top contender in the division. Geoff Neal though, succumbed to a Unanimous Decision loss in his subsequent fight against Stephen Thompson.
In his last 5 fights, Geoff Neal has a 2-3 record in the UFC, including a thumping victory via KO over Vicente Luque. These 3 are the only defeats in his UFC career. Neal is known for packing his punches with incredible power. Hence, justifying his nickname, “Handz of Steel.” But many don’t know the real story behind his nickname.
How did Geoff Neal get his nickname “Handz of Steel”
Back in 2020, Geoff Neal was on a 5 match win streak. He was quickly becoming a fan favorite in the welterweight division and was touted to become a top contender for the title soon enough in the 170-pound division. He was scheduled to fight Stephen ‘Wonderboy‘ Thompson on December 19, 2020.
In the lead-up to the fight, Geoff Neal answered some trivia that UFC fans had for him across social media platforms. In the video posted by UFC’s social media platforms on December 19, 2020, Neal was asked, “Who gave you your nickname? Or how’d you get it?”
Neal Geoff answered this question by saying, “The nickname got given to me by one of my good friends, Travis Moore. He was playing around one day, we were drinking, he was like, ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal, and then I was like, you know what? That sounds good. So I took it, and that’s been my nickname since.”
Looking back, the nickname suits Geoff Neal quite well. Known for his explosive power and knockout potential, Geoff ‘Handz of Steel‘ Neal justifies his nickname.
Geoff Neal’s most vicious knockout victories
Geoff ‘Handz of Steel‘ Neal has had more than just a few KO/TKO victories in his professional MMA career. Out of his 20 professional MMA bouts, a remarkable number of 9 have been TKO/KO victories in his favor. Which tells one all about the fighter’s physical prowess inside the octagon. Out of his 9 TKO/KO victories, there are 4 which particularly stand out because of their viciousness.
The first one was in July 2017 in his fight on the Dana White contender series against Chase Waldon when Neal landed 2 straight lefts and a left hook to the side of Waldon’s head to drop him on the mat. After which a few hammer shots did the job. This victory earned him a contract in the UFC.
The next year he showed the world why his striking is not just limited to punches. In September 2018, Geoff Neal delivered a Head-Kick KO to Frank Camacho at UFC 228. This was just his second fight in the UFC and he won it with just 83 seconds in the 2nd round. A strong left kick landed straight on Camacho’s jaw putting him to sleep in the middle of the octagon.
At UFC 240, ‘Handz of Steel‘ earned his first UFC performance of the night bonus to top off his excellent showing against Niko Price. After dominating the first round of the fight, Neal found himself on top of Price in the middle of the second round. Geoff Neal managed to batter his opponent’s face with a barrage of devastating elbows and straight shots. And managed to secure a TKO victory.
Last but not least, in his second last fight, against Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal was in his own dimension. Thus, the welterweight dominated the fight throughout the first two rounds. Luque eventually felt the wrath of ‘Handz of Steel’ when in the 3rd round after a persistent throwdown of straight, hooks and uppercuts, Neal finally knocked out Luque for the first time in Vicente’s career.