The UFC's Geoff Neal opens up about his addiction battle: 'I wasn't living'.
February 11, 2026, 6:01 p.m. ET
UFC welterweight Geoff Neal has opened up about his struggles to overcome addiction. Neal, who has been ranked in the UFC's 170-pound division, revealed that he was in a dark place as drugs and alcohol took control of his life. According to Neal, it all started around five years ago, around the time he was admitted to the ICU for sepsis.
To get through it, Neal recently completed a mix of the '75 Hard' and '75 Soft' wellness challenge, which is a program intended to help improve physical and mental health. The 75-day challenge includes a strict diet with no cheat meals, regular exercise, no alcohol, and more. Neal completed the challenge about two and a half weeks ago.
Neal shared that he had a real issue with addiction for five years, starting around the time of the COVID pandemic. He said, 'I wasn't living; I was there but not present.' He explained that his longest period of sobriety within those five years was only two weeks, and those two weeks were usually before a fight. He admitted that he was coming to fights underprepared and out of shape, which was rough. Despite this, he managed to stay in the rankings the whole time.
Neal was scheduled to face Neil Magny in August 2020 but withdrew due to sepsis. He returned to the gym a few months later and competed in December against former title challenger Stephen Thompson, losing by decision. He then faced Magny again, also losing by decision. However, Neal got back on track with a pair of wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Vicente Luque.
The rollercoaster of results continued, as he lost his next two outings to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry. An injury TKO win came next over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but he couldn't keep the momentum going after losing by knockout to Carlos Prates last August.
Neal's life outside of fighting has also changed. He has decided to leave his job at Moxie's, a bar and grill in the Dallas area, and return to Texas Roadhouse, a family-friendly restaurant. This decision is part of his efforts to remove himself from certain environments. Neal has cut off some friends and is now fully committed to his sobriety.
Neal anticipates his career will be in a much better place now. He gets the opportunity to prove it inside the octagon when he meets Uros Medic at UFC Fight Night 267 on February 21 in Houston.
