Geoff Neal vs. Uros Medic prediction, odds, pick for UFC Houston

UFC Houston continues with Important Card motion from Toyota Center as we bring you our betting prediction and pick for this Co-Important Event within the Welterweight (170) Division. No. 12-ranked Geoff Neal of Dallas will tackle Serbia’s dangerous Uros Medic in a fight you will not wish to miss. Check our UFC odds series for the Neal-Medic prediction and pick.

Geoff Neal (16-7) is 8-5 during his UFC tenure since 2018. He’s taken a step backwards with a 1-3 record in his last 4 fights leading into this one, most recently losing to Carlos Prates in the primary round. Still, he’ll look to bounce back because the betting favorite this time around, standing 5-foot-11 with a 75-inch reach.

Uros Medic (12-3) is a positive 6-3 since joining the UFC roster in 2021. He also had a rocky 1-2 string of fights, but comes into this bout riding back-to-back knockouts in the primary round. He’ll search for the upset because the underdog, standing 6-foot-1 with a 71-inch reach.

UFC Houston Odds, courtesy of DraftKings. 

UFC Houston Odds: Geoff Neal-Uros Medic Odds

Geoff Neal: -218

Uros Medic: +180

Over 1.5 rounds: +150

Under 1.5 rounds: -195

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Why Geoff Neal Will Win

• Last Fight: (L) Carlos Prates – KO (spinning elbow, R1)
• Last 5: 2-3
• Finishes: 10 KO/TKO, 2 SUB

Geoff Neal was preparing for a war against top welterweight prospect Carlos Prates during his last fight, but his plan for the upset fell short when Prates connected with a flush spinning elbow to place Neal out. It was one in every of the cleaner knockouts we have seen Geoff Neal suffer in recent memory, but we are able to expect a way more motivated version of him this time around knowing he’s facing one other prospect and never a top-ranked contender.

Geoff Neal is one in every of the toughest punches within the Welterweight Division and he’ll be a threat to complete this fight with a knockout through all three rounds. He stays pressuring forward despite what could also be happening within the fight, consistently forcing opponents to make decisions when he’s of their space. Expect one other outing where Neal is the aggressor and leading the dance along with his forward movement.

Pondering back to Neal’s war against Shavkat Rakhmonov, he sustained an amazing amount of injury while still remaining on his feet and dangerous through the primary 4 rounds. While Neal could seem vulnerable on account of his last fight, he’s very durable and it will take a couple of clean strike from Medic to effectively put him away.

Why Uros Medic Will Win

• Last Fight: (W) Muslim Salikhov – TKO (straight right, R1)
  
• Last 5: 3-2
• Finishes: 10 KO/TKO, 2 SUB

Uros Medic landed the right right hand to take a seat Muslim Salikhov down during his last fight, quickly jumping on top and ending the bout with ground strikes. Medic has a flare for the exciting knockout and he’ll actually be a threat to achieve this again along with his unorthodox striking techniques. This time around, nevertheless, a one-punch knockout could also be tougher as he’ll must sustain his offense through all three rounds.

Medic may be very dangerous along with his elbows and knees while doing significant damage from in-close. He’s quick along with his jabs and hooks while still taking note of using his kicking game and slowing the movement of his opponent. Expect the low leg kicks to grow to be a theme early on as he tries to hinder the movement of Geoff Neal.

Medic is not typically one to initiate the grappling, but he’s shown sneaky submission skills from tough positions and it’s not going that Geoff Neal will force a grappling match out of him on this one. Medic should remain diligent on the feet and capitalize on the openings when he sees them as they might not come too often against a robust defender like Neal.

Final Geoff Neal-Uros Medic Prediction & Pick

This scrap has all of the makings of a classic as each fighters are completely willing to fulfill in the middle of the cage and trade shots. Geoff Neal needs to be the marginally more durable fighter of the 2, but Medic’s offense is way more versatile and unpredictable. Geoff Neal is the larger knockout threat, but Medic is more expert from a striking standpoint and will force some awkward exchanges.

Assuming that each men are going to land damaging shots, we have now to barely favor the sturdiness of Geoff Neal to not go down on this one. Medic is able to sitting opponents down, but this will likely be the hardest test of his profession and he won’t find a way to win on one strike alone.

For these reasons, we will roll with Geoff Neal to earn the win because the slight favorite. I expect his punches to have a greater effect throughout this fight and he’s shown a capability to stay more consistent than Medic through all three rounds.

Final Geoff Neal-Uros Medic Prediction & Pick: Geoff Neal (-218); OVER 1.5 Rounds (+150)