Jeff Neal withdraws from UFC 330 fight against Chidi Njokuani, seeks promotion to replace him

Table of Contents

As first reported by Marcel Dorff, Jeff Neal has withdrawn from his struggle in opposition to Chidi Njokuani at UFC 330. With 17 days till the occasion, the UFC is presently in search of a substitute opponent for Njokuani.

It stays unclear why Geoff Neal was pressured to withdraw, however the information marks one other setback within the profession of the Arms of Metal, who turns 36 on the finish of August.

Geoff Neal’s Biography:

Jeff Neal was ranked within the prime 15 UFC welterweights from 2019 to 2025, however fell off the rankings after struggling a first-round knockout loss to Uros Medic in his most up-to-date bout. It was a troublesome improvement for the veteran, who’s simply 1-4 in his previous 5 video games. These losses embrace back-to-back first-round KO losses to Carlos Prates and the aforementioned Medic.

Neal’s solely win throughout that interval additionally got here with an asterisk. He defeated Rafael dos Anjos after the previous light-weight champion injured his knee simply 90 seconds into the bout.

Total, Jeff Neal boasts an 8-5 UFC document with notable wins over Belal Muhammad, Vicente Luque, and Santiago Ponzinibbio.

Chidi Njokuani wants a brand new opponent:

His opponent, Chidi Njokuani, can also be attempting to regain his type. Njokuani gave the impression to be on the verge of cracking the welterweight rankings after defeating Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in March 2025, however has since withdrawn from back-to-back fights with Jake Matthews and Carlos Actual.

Njokuani earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Collection in 2021 and is 5-5 contained in the Octagon, together with 3-2 since shifting all the way down to welterweight.

UFC 330 would be the first outing to Philadelphia since March 2019, so there are certain to be many fighters who need to participate at brief discover. A welterweight fighter who’s one or two wins off the rankings might leap on the likelihood to have a “bang-bang” matchup on such a high-profile card.

One other risk can be to provide a chance to a regional fighter primarily based in Philadelphia. Because it stands, Jeremiah Wells is the one Philadelphia native presently booked for the occasion.

One native possibility is Earl Small. The jiu-jitsu black belt has knowledgeable document of seven wins and a pair of losses, and is presently on a two-fight profitable streak.

One other attention-grabbing risk is Phil Rowe. “The Contemporary Prince” was launched by the UFC in February, however has since returned to the regional scene with a win. A longtime staple of the Philadelphia MMA group, Lowe amassed a 4-5 document within the UFC, with all 4 wins coming by knockout.

UFC 330:

Jeff Neal’s withdrawal was the newest blow to UFC 330. The cardboard beforehand featured a key ladies’s flyweight matchup between New Jersey’s Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasdavicious, which Blanchfield misplaced resulting from damage.

Followers have additionally been important of the general construction of the occasion. UFC 330 might be headlined by the extremely anticipated welterweight championship showdown between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado-Galley, whereas Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight title in opposition to Jillian Robertson within the co-main occasion.

However apart from these championship matches, this card would not characteristic some other ranked fighters at the moment. There was hypothesis that the promotion might add a matchup between ranked contenders within the ultimate two weeks earlier than struggle night time.

With Jeff Neal off the cardboard and Njokuani’s substitute nonetheless not secured, UFC 330 is presently scheduled for 11 fights.

Present UFC 330 struggle card

important occasion

sub-main occasion