Geoff ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal, Irene Aldana Score HUGE Knockouts In UFC 245 Prelims

As expected, the UFC 245 preliminary card delivered more than a handful of highlights.

Headlining the undercard before the UFC 245 PPV main card on ESPN+, welterweight Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal earned the biggest win of his MMA career, finishing Mike “Platinum” Perry.

With the stoppage coming after Neal dropped Perry with punches, the beginning of the end came a few seconds earlier, when “Handz of Steel” used his feet, landing a pair of head kicks that wobbled and stunned Perry.

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The finish came at 1:30 of the first round.

Now 5-0 inside the Octagon, Neal finishes 2019 on the heels of a pair of stoppages, setting the Texas-based fighter up for a high profile campaign in the new year.

Tenth ranked bantamweight Irene Aldana also landed a highlight reel knockout.

Pulling a massive upset over second ranked, and previously unbeaten, Ketlen Vieira, Aldana weathered an early storm to land a perfectly placed left hook that dropped Vieira.

Kicking off the UFC 245 prelims, 25-fight UFC veteran Matt Brown completed a comeback two years in the making.

Out of action since November 2017, Brown survived numerous ground attacks in the first round, including a triangle choke attempt that lasted the majority of the period to withstand, and ultimately finish UFC veteran Ben Saunders.

Using his patented technical brawler style, Brown escaped Saunders’ guard and returned to the feet, where he dazed his opponent with a big elbow and a huge elbow. Returning to the ground, Brown smothered Saunders with some heavy ground and pound, forcing the stoppage at 4:55 of the second round.

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Earlier in the night, a pair of UFC newcomers were successful in their respective UFC debuts, as middleweight Punahele Soriano opened the show with a massive first round knockout, and 20 year old Chase Hooper used elbows and punches to earn the TKO victory in under five minutes.

Both Soriano and Hooper recently matriculated to the UFC after earning promotional contracts on Dana White’s Contender Series, but the similarities end there.

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Soriano a middleweight displayed excellent power, dropping Oskar Piechota twice during the contest. He also fought off an early kimura attempt before resetting and finding his bearings.

For Hooper it was all about the jiu jitsu, and using a number of different choke setups to take Teymur to the brink. With Teymur fighting off a deep rear naked choke attempt, Hooper transitioned to a mounted triangle choke before dropping a barrage of elbows that forced the stoppage.

Both Soriano and Hooper remain undefeated in their professional MMA careers.

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The UFC 245 PPV main card on ESPN+ begins at 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST.

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UFC 245 Preliminary Card Results
Geoff Neal def. Mike Perry via KO (punches) R1, 1:30
Irene Aldana def. Ketlen Vieira via KO (punches) R1, 4:51
Omari Akhmedov def. Ian Heinisch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Matt Brown def. Ben Saunders via KO (elbows and punches) R2, 4:55
Chase Hooper def. Daniel Teymur via TKO (elbows) R1, 4:34
Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Jessica Eye def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Punahele Soriano def. Oskar Piechota via KO (punches) R1, 3:17