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Geoff Neal had a near-death experience around 2020 due to a life-threatening septic infection. Recalling the ordeal he went through, Neal stated that he wouldn't wish sepsis on his worst enemy.
'Handz of Steel' said during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
"I went into septic shock and that's when the heart failure and the kidney failure kicked in... I was unreponsive for like a good twenty minutes, they said. It was bad. It was this whole, like, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. You know what I mean, like it was torture."
After reading up on the subject, Neal concluded that the infection had stemmed from a bad tooth that he had long neglected. The welterweight prospect further told Ariel Helwani:
"I'm assuming it came from a bad tooth... I was looking it up... and they were like, sepsis could come from an affected tooth. And I had a bad tooth in the back of my mouth that I just completely neglected."
Watch Neal's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Geoff Neal credits coach for allaying fears triggered by sepsis in his UFC Vegas 59 clash against Vicente Luque
Geoff Neal scored an impressive third-round TKO win over Vicente Luque in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 40 last Saturday. Neal clearly outstruck his opponent from the initial bell and while 'The Silent Assassin' looked to be gaining some momentum in round 2, 'Handz of Steel' doubled up in round 3 to secure the finish.
Since his life-threatening battle with sepsis, Neal has had concerning thoughts about his cardio at the back of his mind. According to 'Handz of Steel', those thoughts started surfacing during the second round of his clash against Luque. However, the UFC welterweight prospect credits his coach Sayif Saud for allaying his fears and pushing him into the third frame.
Neal said during the post-fight press conference:
“With sepsis came congestive heart failure. My kidneys shut down so there has been this fear of gassing out, this fear of dying from being too tired, that I’m slowly trying to get over. It kind of hit in the second round, just because it happens. My coach pulled me out of it and it took me over to the third round.”
Watch Neal's appearance at the post-fight scrum below:
