Geoff Neal Says he Fought Four Rounds Unable to See Out of Right Eye

Both Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal looked worse for wear, after the clashed heads in the second round of their bout. But, in a post-fight statement Neal’s released, he’s reporting that he couldn’t see out of his right eye after the head butt.

Neal releases statement following loss

The 30-year-old Neal fought Thompson in the headliner of UFC Vegas 17, and the latter’s movement and vaunted striking ruled the day.

Neal kept coming until the final horn and landed some decent shots of his own. But, after 25 minutes, it was clear that Thompson would be awarded the win.

As noted above, however, the fight did see the welterweights accidentally clash heads in round two, which opened cuts on both men. In the statement below, which Neal released after the fight, he reported the head butt impaired his vision for the rest of the bout.

I want to take the time to thank all my supporters and friends. I haven’t replied to everyone but just know I love y’all!

Not the outcome I wanted but I had fun nonetheless. Some much adversity dealing leading up to this fight.. sepsis, congestive heart failure, 3 of my corners testing positive for covid, with one of them being the general @sayifsaud, but I still made that walk and fought that fight.

Couldn’t see out of my right eye for 4 rounds and still managed to hang in there with a guy whose been kicking ass since I was like 9yrs old lol.

I don’t know about y’all but I’m proud of me! Shoutout to my teammates and coaches who did everything to get me ready for this moment.

And big shout out to @wonderboymma. True definition of a martial artist. Never stop being you my man. And tell your pops I said thanks for the water ???

P.S this is not an excuse @wonderboymma is good af lol

What’s next for Neal

Given how hard the fighters clashed heads, it’s not all that surprising that Neal had issues with his sight from then on. 

All that aside, it will be interesting to see who Neal fights next, and whether he can return to the win column. The fighter had a ton of momentum heading into UFC Vegas 17, as Neal (13-3) had won sevens straight.

There’s certainly no shame in losing to ‘Wonderboy’, who has long been one of the best welterweights in the game.