In the feature bout spot on the UFC 285 main card, setting the table for our title fight co-main and main event bouts, two top-ten fighters, Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov, are set to go to battle. On a long night of great fights, this one holds its own among all the other big matchups. In what would be a Fight Night main event, we get in a 3-round format.
If you are planning on betting on the UFC this weekend, feel free to follow along here for an in-depth look into this big-time welterweight matchup. Also, keep reading for an official Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov prediction.
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Information
Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Date and Time: March 4, 2023. 10 PM ET
How to Watch: ESPN+
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Last Fight Record
Neal is coming off an impressive TKO victory over the always-dangerous Vincente Luque in his last appearance.
Rakhmonov is undefeated in his career, with his most recent win being over Neil Magny via guillotine choke.
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Betting Analysis
Geoff Neal Facts to Know
Neal is a 32-year-old UFC welterweight that has been with the company since his Season 1 appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, where he earned a contract after a first-round TKO win.
The boxing-style fighter has shown lots of power in his career, scoring nine KO victories over his 19 career fights. With the high-volume style Neal has, and with him being in boxing range a lot of the time, he has averaged 5.27 significant strikes landed and 5.28 significant strikes absorbed per minute in the octagon. He also has an impressive 60% striking defense, showing his traditional boxing skill.
Offensive wrestling isn’t really Neal’s choice of weaponry, but he holds down the wrestling aspect of his game with very solid technique and a crazy work ethic. Neal has a very strong 85% takedown defense over his UFC career.
Shavkat Rakhmonov Facts to Know
When an undefeated fighter like Rakhmonov comes into the UFC with a 100% finish rate, the fans are very excited. This kid has taken it to a whole new level while continuing his perfect finish rate, as he is now four fights into his UFC career.
Rakhmonov has a perfect eight KO victories and eight submission victories over his 16-fight career. His striking has been adequate in the UFC, averaging an efficient 2.52 significant strikes landed per minute while only absorbing 1.39.
Grappling has been the big standout skill for Rakhmonov in the UFC. He has averaged 2.32 takedowns per 15 minutes, with 1.7 submission attempts. He has finished three out of his four UFC fights via submission as well. Of course, his lone KO victory in the UFC was a spectacular spinning hook kick.
Updates
No injuries were reported to the NSAC.
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Betting Preview
When you see either Neal or Rakhmonov on the UFC schedule, it is a must-watch fight. These two have given the new fans some great performances the last couple of years, and now they get to meet in the top 10 of the welterweight division.
UFC odds have Rakhmonov as a massive -500 favorite, which is very surprising given the skill of Geoff Neal. Neal has been in the cage with many of the best fighters the welterweight division has to offer in the last few years. Can Rakhmonov prove the oddsmakers right with his first big test?
Neal is going to come into this fight in great shape and will be ready for a war. He always will be within reach of winning a fight at this stage of his career; that’s just how solid of a martial artist he is now.
Rakhmonov’s Pressure Fighting
Rakhmonov has a style of fighting where he seems to always be stalking down his opponent and looking to keep the pressure on them with big shots and takedown threats. Neal combats that really well with being a great athlete, having tons of power, and great durability.
Before we can make a legit Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov prediction, we can’t ignore the best betting lines for this bout. The fight going the distance is at +200, and the over 2.5 rounds is at +155. You can even get the over 1.5 rounds at +123 at some sportsbooks.
It is tough to not feel like oddsmakers are widely overlooking the talented Geoff Neal. But do they know something we don’t?
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Betting Prediction
When most MMA fans make UFC predictions, there is a lot of bias involved. That is something that is very tough to combat while betting on the UFC because of all the emotion involved in the sport. You never want to see someone you enjoy lose in front of millions of people and potentially getting hurt really badly.
With that being said, the official, unbiased Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov prediction is for Rakhmonov to get his hand raised. This kid is going to be just too dynamic for all 15 minutes for Neal to be able to get anything going offensively. He will be working too hard to keep himself off the cage for all three rounds.
Decision Outcome and Neal’s Defensive Strategy
The most important part about this prediction is that the fight is going to a decision. Neal is way too good to get steamrolled while gatekeeping the top 5 of the division from Rakhmonov. Geoff Neal is going to use his power and his quick hands with his high guard to keep the distance from Rakhmonov.
Neal is also a very solid wrestler and will be able to stuff a few takedowns and make them difficult for Rakhmonov to complete.
There are a lot of great odds for this fight ending in a decision in favor of Rakhmonov; check out your local sportsbooks.
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