UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar - Predictions and Picks

#3 Geoff Neal vs. Niko Price

Niko Price has never gone to a decision in his 8-fight UFC career

The odds on this fight ending up winning a bonus of some kind seem pretty slim; for me it’s a surefire contender for the Fight of the Night and that’s almost purely based on the presence of Niko Price.

Price is currently 5-2 in the UFC with one No Contest, and none of those fights – including the NC – have gone the distance. In fact, Price has only gone to decision once in a 15-fight career.

Simply put, ‘The Hybrid’ is the definition of a kill-or-be-killed fighter, almost more than any other current member of the UFC roster. That means that Neal will need to be at his best to pick up a win here, as he’s against a man who can seemingly finish from any area – remember his ridiculous knockout of Randy Brown, using hammer fists from the bottom?

What makes this fight interesting is that both men are somewhat similar in that they have skills in all areas, but they’re not a total expert in any single one. Neal – who came through Dana White’s Contender Series – is an explosive striker first and foremost, and yet his first official UFC win came via rear naked choke over Brian Camozzi.

Most impressive though were his two most recent wins; his head kick knockout of Frank Camacho last September was incredibly violent and vaulted him onto everyone’s radar, but the way he picked apart Belal Muhammad in January was more impressive.

Muhammad, a great athlete himself, was never truly in the fight – he couldn’t take Neal down and was heavily outmatched on the feet, with his chin being the only thing keeping him going really.

Price is obviously tougher; he took some huge shots from Tim Means in March, for instance, and was somehow able to remain in the fight enough to knock Means out with a vicious, clean counterpunch.

The issue for him here though may be that aggressive nature; Means is an excellent striker in his own right but he’s more of a clinch destroyer, not a concussive one-punch knockout artist.

Neal on the other hand is more similar to the last man to hand Price a loss, Abdul Razak Alhassan. I’d say Alhassan is a more limited fighter than Neal in terms of what he’s capable of on the ground and in the clinch, but he’s an insanely heavy hitter who can suddenly explode to life at any moment – just like Neal.

I could be wrong here as Price is very tough and can finish a fight at any time, but he’s facing a guy who’s faster, more explosive and likely hits harder too. I can see this being a quick fight too as I expect Price to push the action only to get hurt and finished – keeping up his 100% finish rate, but unfortunately going the wrong way this time.

The Pick: Neal via first round KO