{"id":36775,"date":"2026-02-11T17:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Geoff-Neal-Opens-Up-on-Addiction-Issues-It-Was-Rough-200099"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:37:24","slug":"geoff-neal-opens-up-on-addiction-issues-it-was-rough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/geoff-neal-opens-up-on-addiction-issues-it-was-rough\/","title":{"rendered":"Geoff Neal Opens Up on Addiction Issues: ‘It Was Rough’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Geoff
\nNeal<\/a> has been through a rough patch for the past few
\nyears. <\/p>\n

Neal recently revealed that he has been battling alcohol and drug
\naddiction for the past five years. It started around 2020 when Neal
\nwent into septic shock. Neal claims his longest periods of sobriety
\nin the last five years were a couple of weeks before his fights.
\nDespite going into his fights underprepared, \u201cHandz of Steel\u201d has
\nsurprised himself by managing to stay in the rankings all along.
\nNeal recently overcame addiction by staying sober for 75 days
\nstraight.<\/p>\n

\u2018I Fell Into a Hole\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got done with the 75 hard challenge two weeks ago,\u201d Neal told
\nHome of Fight<\/a>. \u201cBut I had a real issue for five
\nyears, around COVID, when I got sepsis, I fell into a hole\u2026 I had a
\nproblem with addiction, drugs and alcohol, it was rough, five years
\nof it. The longest I was sober within those five years was two
\nweeks, and those weeks were usually before fights. I\u2019d slow down
\ntwo weeks before the fight, come to the fight underprepared, out of
\nshape; it was rough. It\u2019s crazy I stayed in the rankings the whole
\ntime.\u201d <\/p>\n

Neal (16-7)  is 1-3 in his last four outings, with the win
\ncoming from a knee injury to his opponent. However, the perennially
\nranked welterweight has only lost to elite opposition in Shavkat
\nRakhmonov<\/a>, Ian Garry<\/a>,
\nand, most recently, Carlos
\nPrates<\/a>. Neal is now scheduled to face Uros Medic<\/a>
\nat
\nUFC Houston<\/a> on Feb 21. Medic (12-3) is coming off back-to-back
\nfirst-round knockout wins and has never seen the judges\u2019 scorecards
\nin his career. <\/p>\n