Geoff Neal (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Rising welterweight Geoff Neal has released a statement, in which he says he “almost died” due to the medical issue that pulled him from UFC Vegas 8.

Neal was booked to fight Neil Magny at the August 29th event. But the 29-year-old was forced to drop out after becoming seriously ill.

More recently the welterweight shared out the statement below.

View this post on Instagram

These past few week have been crazy, and that's putting it lightly. It's really hard to try to find an eloquent way to say "I almost died." So screw it.. I almost died…. This really put alot of things into perspective for me. Never did I ever think I would be hooked up to a dialysis machine before my 30s. Everything was going well for me. Was training everyday, making money at work, just signed a contract for a huge fight, then BOOM, life hit me with a check hook. I'm just glad to be home after having to spend 1 week in the ICU. Stay healthy out there y'all and listen to your body at all times. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

A post shared by Geoff Neal (@handzofsteelmma) on Aug 9, 2020 at 7:20pm PDT

According to a follow-up report from MMA Junkie, doctors are still not clear what led to Neal’s condition. The fighter, who tested negative for COVID-19, is no longer hospitalized and is back home recovering.

Robbie Lawler has reportedly agreed to step in and fight Magny on August 29th.

Neal (13-2) has won seven straight fights and is coming off a first-round, stoppage of Mike Perry in December.