‘Handz of Steel’ Geoff Neal found himself behind bars on Thanksgiving.
The Arrest
The UFC welterweight contender was arrested in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving with charges for driving while intoxicated and unlawful carrying a weapon.
Neal was booked into the Collin County Jail in McKinney, Texas, after getting arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety at 3:47 a.m. on November 25.
His bond was set at $1,000 for each charge. He was later released at 8:08 p.m.
The news was reported by MMA Junkie who obtained a Collin County Sheriff’s Office document. Neither Neal nor the UFC have made a comment as of yet.
Poor Timing
The timing is never good, but this one came 16 days before Neal is scheduled to fight.
The 31-year-old takes on Santiago Ponzinibbio in an exciting welterweight matchup at the upcoming UFC 269 pay-per-view event taking place December 11 in Las Vegas. The misdemeanor will not stop Neal from fighting at UFC 269.
Neal is currently enduring the first losing skid of his career following back-to-back decision defeats to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny.
His last win came in December 2019 when he TKO’d Mike Perry in the first round of their UFC 245 matchup.