Welterweight veteran Geoff Neal is making his Octagon return in his first fight this year against Carlos Prates in a featured fight at UFC 319. ‘Handz of Steel’ ended 2024 with a win after his prior two fights, and he’d be hoping his winning ways against his Brazilian counterpart and enter the top 10 after this Saturday. But what should have been a week about Neal’s next fight, the veteran has gone viral after revealing something about his life that not many people were aware of.
Geoff Neal claims that, besides being a fighter, he also works as a waiter to make some extra money. This brings us back to the debate about fighter pay in the UFC, as other fighters, like Alexandre Pantoja, also had to work a second job just to make ends meet. Also, Anthony Smith faced similar experiences back in the day, when his UFC career was still young.
But for Neal, he didn’t seem to have any issues when it came to working a second job, as he claims that it helps him in a certain way. Also, he claims that making extra money isn’t necessary isn’t a bad thing, because it keeps him safe and engaged, as he works as a waiter a day or two every week. And guess what? Geoff Neal also mentioned that he’ll be working during this UFC 319 fight week.
“I actually [have] work tomorrow. I’ve only been doing it like once or twice a week,” Geoff Neal told Home of Fight in an interview ahead of UFC 319. “It’s good money, isn’t it? It also helps burn calories. It’s like an active rest… It keeps me out of trouble. It’s like, it’s beneficial, you know?”
Geoff Neal continued to work as a waiter while being on the main card of UFC 319:
“It’s good money, and it also helps burn calories. Like an active rest. It keeps me out of trouble. It’s like, it’s beneficial, you know?”
@Home_of_Fight & @LynchOnSports pic.twitter.com/zE8AWLQIuA
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 12, 2025
If we take a look at the reports that talk about Geoff Neal’s UFC earnings, he has made over $380,000 while competing in Dana White‘s promotion, according to the MMA Salaries website. And that too, after spending more than seven years in the UFC. So maybe there’s a deeper issue for Neal, but he may not be willing to open up about it. However, the CEO recently claimed that things will be better for the fighters when the new TV deal commences, as there are chances to earn more money.
Dana White claims that $7.7 billion TV deal will help fighters earn more
As we all know, you’re not earning big money if you’re not one of the stars, but that’s going to change in 2026, at least, according to Dana White’s recent comments. He recently claimed that not only is the deal a good one for the fans, who are paying over a thousand dollars every year to watch UFC fights, but the fighters also have a lot to benefit from because their payouts are set to see an increase.
“This is going to be incredible for the fighters. We’ve talked about how this is good for the fans and good for the sport, but the fighters are also big beneficiaries here,” Dana White told ‘Office Sports’. “We’ve looked to increase fighter pay whenever we could, even back in the beginning when we were losing money, and certainly will be doing so again.”
Well, how will things change? We don’t know that yet, but UFC legend Georges St-Pierre claims that this deal could see fighters struggling even more since PPV points will cease to exist. Regardless, let us know your thoughts on Neil Magny’s current situation in the comments down below.
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