The first UFC event of the upcoming year has taken a hit as the welterweight co-main event between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal will not be taking place at UFC Vegas 67 on January 14, 2023.Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩@BigMarcel24Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin)94275Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin) https://t.co/CKb1UTsbejUpset with his fight being called off, Rakhmonov fired shots at Neal on social media.'Nomad' said that Neal's bold claim of getting an easy win over Rakhmonov was "all talk." The Kazakhstani wrote on Twitter:"Apparently @handzofsteelmma is all talk"Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov@Rakhmonov1994Apparently @handzofsteelmma is all talk1617103Apparently @handzofsteelmma is all talkIn the lead-up to the fight, Neal had stated that he did not see anything special in Rakhmonov and would get the better of 'Nomad' as long as he was focused and his cardio held up.MMA Junkie@MMAJunkieGeoff Neal thinks he's capable of ending Shavkat Rakhmonov's perfect MMA record.Full story: bit.ly/3CnGlDp80427Geoff Neal thinks he's capable of ending Shavkat Rakhmonov's perfect MMA record.Full story: bit.ly/3CnGlDp https://t.co/V4yv2xGTlzThe fight was supposed to be an exciting affair as both athletes are currently on winning streaks. 'Handz of Steel' has managed to secure victories in his last two fights against Vicente Luque and Santiago Ponzinibbio.Shavkat Rakhmonov, on the other hand, is undefeated with an impressive record of 16-0. The 28-year-old is currently 4-0 in the UFC and Neal was supposed to be his next big test in the promotion.Twitter reacts to the cancelation of Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Geoff NealThe news of Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Geoff Neal being off the table has left a lot of MMA fans disappointed. Many of them took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the announcement.One Twitter user said that the UFC will have a hard time finding a replacement for 'Nomad' and may have to pick a regional fighter to fill in for Neal:"Going to have a hard time finding a replacement. Have to be someone off the regional scene desperate for a shot."Andy Hickey MMA@AndyHickeyMMA@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Going to have a hard time finding a replacement. Have to be someone off the regional scene desperate for a shot.41@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Going to have a hard time finding a replacement. Have to be someone off the regional scene desperate for a shot.Another user suggested a showdown between Rakhmonov and fellow unbeaten welterweight Khamzat Chimaev:"Khamzat always talking about people ducking him add him in and let’s gooooo"franklin saïnt@AAOnline94@BigMarcel24 Khamzat always talking about people ducking him add him in and let’s gooooo10@BigMarcel24 Khamzat always talking about people ducking him add him in and let’s goooooOne individual asked everyone to take it easy on Neal as he might be facing some health issues:"Let’s not be hard on Geoff about it in the comments though. Geoff has had issues with his heart in the past. Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s why he had to pull. Would’ve been the type of matchup I’d love to see. Maybe down the line."Danny Fredo Blanco@AintFredoOfYou@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Let’s not be hard on Geoff about it in the comments though. Geoff has had issues with his heart in the past. Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s why he had to pull. Would’ve been the type of matchup I’d love to see. Maybe down the line.@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Let’s not be hard on Geoff about it in the comments though. Geoff has had issues with his heart in the past. Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s why he had to pull. Would’ve been the type of matchup I’d love to see. Maybe down the line.A few more tweets on the fight cancelation can be seen below:Primetime@TheAlphaRock1@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Not surprised one bit. 0 chance they find shavkat a replacement that isn’t a can who’s desperate for a check1@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Not surprised one bit. 0 chance they find shavkat a replacement that isn’t a can who’s desperate for a checkcombat helmet@combat_helmet@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin shavkat p4p most avoided fighter in 2023, put money on it93@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin shavkat p4p most avoided fighter in 2023, put money on itCrispyGo@CrispyGoYT@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Nooo i was so excited for this cmon. No good fights til another month6@BigMarcel24 @ILazorin Nooo i was so excited for this cmon. No good fights til another monthFlu Flammin Guram@FluFlammerMMANow all we need is for Neil Magny to drop out of the Gilbert burns fight and we get to see Shavkat destroy Gilbert twitter.com/bigmarcel24/st…Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩@BigMarcel24Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin)182Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin) https://t.co/CKb1UTsbejNow all we need is for Neil Magny to drop out of the Gilbert burns fight and we get to see Shavkat destroy Gilbert twitter.com/bigmarcel24/st…Keith Shillan@KeithShillanMMAThis sucks. Good luck to the UFC trying to find a replacement to fight Rakhmonov on 2 weeks notice when it is hard to find someone to fight him on a full camp twitter.com/bigmarcel24/st…Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩@BigMarcel24Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin)582Not yet in 2023....and here is some bad news for the first event already. Geoff Neal is OUT of his scheduled fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on January 14th at #UFCVegas67. (first rep. @ILazorin) https://t.co/CKb1UTsbejThis sucks. Good luck to the UFC trying to find a replacement to fight Rakhmonov on 2 weeks notice when it is hard to find someone to fight him on a full camp twitter.com/bigmarcel24/st…