A welterweight showdown pitting Geoff Neal against Shavkat Rakhmonov is slated for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2023.
Promotion broadcast partner ESPN was first to report that Neal and Rakhmonov will lock horns at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 14. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov.
After dropping consecutive decisions to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny, Neal has rebounded with a split decision triumph over Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269 and a knockout of Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN 40.