SUMMARY
- Geoff Neal, made his debute in UFC in 2018, he is popular for his knockout power.
- The mindset a fighter brings into the octagon is crucial, with factors like walkout music motivating them.
Geoff ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal is a professional American MMA fighter currently signed to the UFC. Geoff Neal currently fights in the welterweight division of the UFC and is ranked #8 in the division. The 33-year-old fighter started his professional MMA career with 8 wins and 2 losses in his first 10 fights before he joined the UFC roster in 2017.
He got the contract after appearing on the Dana White contender series season 1, week 3, and winning his fight. Following his win on his UFC debut in February 2018, Geoff Neal went on to win 4 more fights. It was only then that the Texas-born fighter succumbed to his first UFC defeat. As one might surmise from his nickname, ‘Handz of Steel’ is known for his KO power with 9 TKO/KO victories in MMA.
Geoff Neal currently holds a professional MMA record of 15-5-0 but that is subject to change in February 2024. Neal is slated to go up against Ian ‘The Future’ Garry in the welterweight bout on the main card of UFC 298. The event is scheduled to take place on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
View this post on Instagram
For any fighter, the mindset with which he/she walks into the octagon plays a huge part. Many factors determine the right state of mind for a fighter while walking out into the spotlights. But one of them is their walkout music which fighters use to motivate themselves. With less than a week to go for his fight let’s take a look at Geoff Neal’s previous choices for a walkout theme.
“Don’t Push Me” during Geoff Neal vs Niko Price (UFC 240: Holloway vs Edgar)
Ever since making his debut in the UFC on February 18, 2018, Geoff Neal has been pretty consistent with his choice of walkout music. It’s easy to tell that the Texas-born fighter is a huge fan of 50 Cent. Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent is one of the greatest Hip Hop artists to ever exist. Known for his old-school gangsta style of hip hop it makes sense why Geoff Neal has been walking out to his song.
At UFC 240: Holloway vs Edgar, for his fight against Niko Price, Neal walked out to “Don’t Push Me” by 50 Cent ft. Lloyd Banks and Eminem. It was the second last song of 50 Cent’s revolutionary album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin”. The album debuted at no.1 on the Billboard 200 charts and finished the year selling over 12 Million copies. It was easily the best album of the year in 2003.
In what is truly a masterpiece of the early 2000s, this track is the perfect one to get into the right mindset before a fight. It has helped Neal in his UFC career as he won his first 5 fights in the UFC. And in each of those 5 fights, he had walked out to this Hip-Hop classic.
“Hypnosis” during Neal vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier)
Geoff Neal faced two consecutive losses in his 6th and 7th UFC fights. Neal had to turn things around and he did manage to successfully do so at UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier. The change started not with just the result at the end of the fight, but right from his walkout music. Geoff Neal tried switching up his walkout theme for the first time during his UFC career.
And instead of his signature “Don’t Push Me” he played “Hypnosis” by Sleep Token during his walkout towards the octagon. This Alternative Metal/Rock type track can be described as powerful. It is from the album “This Place Will Become Your Tomb” by the British Rock band “Sleep Token”. The change of music provided Geoff Neal with the extra bit of motivation required to secure the win.
The 33-year-old managed to get back to winning ways with a Split-decision victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio. Since then Geoff Neal has bagged another win followed up by a loss in his most recent match against Shavkhat Rakhmonov. Also worth noting is that he walked out to “Hypnosis” in both these matches officially marking the shift from his previous walkout music.
Now the question circulating amongst fans is what will Geoff Neal be walking out to on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298. Will he persist with ‘Hypnosis’ or try out something else like he did to get back to winning ways like last time? It is safe to assume in case he does change his theme, that it might be his old theme or another one of 50 Cent’s classics. Maybe even a Rock/Metal track like ‘Hypnosis’.