UFC: Luke Jumeau books return bout against Geoff Neal at UFC Fight Night Adelaide

Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·

20 Oct, 2018 05:58 AM2 mins to read

Luke Jumeau will return to the UFC in Adelaide in December. Photo / Getty Images

The return of the Jedi is imminent.

Being sidelined with a hand injury for most of the year, Waikato MMA star Luke Jumeau has booked his UFC return bout.

Jumeau, nicknamed 'The Jedi', has landed a spot on the card for UFC Fight Night Adelaide on December 2, squaring off against American welterweight Geoff Neal.

"It's just sort of how it all worked out," Jumeau said of making his return close to home. "With the recovery time and that sort of thing, it just made sense."

Jumeau told the Herald he had been in regular contact with the UFC, who told him about six weeks ago they were working on finding him an opponent for the Adelaide date.

They found one in the 28-year-old Neal, who holds a formidable 10-2-0 record with three straight stoppages since joining the UFC in 2017.

"It's good of them to let me know…giving me that extra time for preparation and all that."

Being told he would be on the card 12 weeks out from the date, Jumeau was able to add a month to what would usually be an eight-week fight camp. The 30-year-old said having the extra time was extremely beneficial.

"It benefits me just in the fact of coming of the injury; I've done a little pre-camp before I start the real camp just to make sure everything's up to scratch before the real hard work."

The bout shapes up as a good test for the two fighters, both of who will be competing in the final fight of their initial four-bout contracts. Jumeau said he was yet to enter talks with the promotion about an extension, and would look to do so after putting on a strong performance against Neal.

"Both me and him are going to look to stand up I think and put on a good show," Jumeau said.

"Once I put on a good show, hopefully they'll send me a new deal."

Jumeau holds a 13-4-0 professional MMA record, with a 2-1 record in the UFC. All three of his bouts with the promotion have been decided by the judges' scorecards.