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No. 7 ranked UFC welterweight Geoff Neal missed weight ahead of his highly anticipated bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285.
Neal weighed in at 175lbs which is four pounds over the allowed weight limit for non-title fights in the welterweight division. As a result, he was fined 30% of his match purse and his fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov was moved to catchweight.
Missing weight in the UFC can have several consequences. If a fighter misses weight, their opponent will hold the right to refuse to let the fight move forward. However, if their opponent agrees, the fighter who misses weight will be fined around 20-30% of their fight purse, with the fined amount being awarded to their opponent and the fighter will be deprived of the post-fight bonuses if any.
However, the rules get way stricter for championship bouts. If either of the champion or the challenger misses weight by even half a pound, he or she cannot win the championship even if they end up winning the bout.
Who won the Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov bout?
Following a bit of turbulence surrounding Geoff Neal's weight miss, 'Hands of Steel' and Shavkat Rakhmonov entered the octagon last night at UFC 285 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Going into the fight, Shavkat Rakhmonov emerged as a massive favorite to get the job done. Boasting a record of 16-0 and winning all of those bouts via finishes, 'Nomad' was backed to make it a short night against Neal at UFC 285.
However, Geoff Neal proved to be Shavkat Rakhmonov's toughest test. Neal seemingly had 'Nomad' hurt during the fight, however, the sheer resilience of Rakhmonov kept him going. Heading into the third and final round of the fight, the bout was evenly matched and both fighters had everything to win.
However, it was Shavkat Rakhmonov who eventually came out on top after securing a submission victory late in the third and final round. 'Nomad' further extended his undefeated run with 100% finish rate in MMA and with such a performance, he has certainly cemented himself as one of the top contenders in the welterweight division of the UFC.
