Geoff Neal plans to “throw down” with Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59: “I do think I can knock him out”

Geoff Neal is excited for his UFC Vegas 59 co-main event fight against Vicente Luque.

Both Neal and Luque are fan-favorites and are known to stand-and-trade with their opponents. With that, Neal always thought he would end up fighting Luque, however, he says he did want to fight Sean Brady.

“For sure, we have a lot of mutual opponents, as a lot of dudes, I fought he fought before I had the chance to fight them,” Neal said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’ve seen a lot of film on him just because I’m watching film on my opponents and he happens to be an opponent of theirs. I knew it was going to happen, a lot of times I will be looking for a fight and I knew if I couldn’t get a fight, Luque will fight me. He’s always been somebody that is always willing to fight. I wanted to fight Sean Brady but he didn’t want to fight so I took Luque.”

With the bout against Luque official, Neal expects this to be a kickboxing fight as he doubts either one of them will shoot for takedowns.

“I mean I don’t see any other way unless he is planning to take me down,” Neal said. “I don’t think he has the wrestling to take me down, so who knows. I’ve been working on takedown defense, I train the same way every fight so wherever I want the fight to go I can take it there. It doesn’t matter what he does but I do imagine it will be a kickboxing fight.”

Although Geoff Neal is expecting a striking fight against Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59, he doesn’t want it to go the distance. Neal knows if he goes three rounds with Luque both of them will take a ton of damage.

Yet, the plan for Neal is to get in there and throw down and be the first person to finish Luque in the UFC.

“Hell no, I don’t like going the distance. As far as Luque, going the distance with him it screams brain damage all over it,” Neal said. “I want to get it done in the first or second round, I’m not trying to be in there bleeding all over the cage, let’s get in there throw down, and get this s** over with… Anybody can get knocked out, so I do think I can knock him out but I’m not going to bank on that. If it happens, it happens, I do have the power, the size, the speed, and accuracy.”

Should Neal get his hand raised, he isn’t sure what would be next for him but does want at least one more fight this year.

“I just take his spot, number six,” Neal said. “We will see what happens after that, I haven’t looked past him yet so I haven’t seen what my plans are after this fight. I don’t know how fighters can do that, I have a grown-ass man stepping across the cage from me trying to beat me up.”

Do you think Geoff Neal will finish Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59?