Welterweight contender Geoff Neal named his hardest-hitting opponent in February 2024.
Days before he fought Ian Garry, ‘Handz of Steel’ looked back at his long career in MMA.
Geoff Neal has big UFC wins over Belal Muhammad, Mike Perry, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Vicente Luque.
The heavy-handed American has also shared the Octagon with Neil Magny, Stephen Thompson, and Shavkat Rakhmonov – but he says someone he fought outside of MMA’s premier promotion hit him the hardest.
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Geoff Neal revisits fight with Kevin Holland
In January 2017, Geoff Neal squared off with Kevin Holland at Xtreme Knockout 34.
The future UFC stars boasted 6-1 and 7-2 records before they clashed for a middleweight title.
Holland emerged with a third-round TKO win, but he had to wait 18 months for his shot in the UFC.
In the meantime, Neal won a comeback fight before impressing Dana White on the Contender Series to earn a contract from the MMA mogul.
Still, all these years later, Neal remembers just how hard Holland hit him when they fought.
“Kevin Holland, honestly,” he said when asked to name his hardest-hitting opponent to date.
“That motherf—– hits hard. Tall, lanky dude.
“I don’t know. The way he generates his [power], he’s so long and he has an 80-something-inch reach.
“Yeah, he got me at the end of that motherf—– and almost knocked me out.”
What’s next for Kevin Holland?
Kevin Holland has become known for bouncing between weight classes during his UFC run.
Last time out, he outpointed Gunnar Nelson in his return to welterweight from middleweight.
Holland will continue at 170lbs when he fights at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night.
One of Neal’s old opponents, Vicente Luque, stands in the way of Holland and a two-fight win streak.
Only time will tell whether Holland’s power will carry him to victory on the Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley 2 undercard.