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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
A major welterweight bout is set for Beantown.
Perennial contender Geoff Neal will face the undefeated, up-and-coming Ian Machado Garry at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, Garry announced via Instagram. Sources confirmed the matchup to ESPN on Wednesday.
Neal is currently No. 9 in ESPN’s 170-pound rankings.
Neal (15-5) is coming off a third-round submission loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285 in March. The Texas native was on a two-fight winning streak prior to that. Neal, 32, has finished five of his seven wins in the UFC.
Machado Garry (12-0) is 5-0 in the UFC and coming off a first-round TKO over Daniel Rodriguez on May 13. The Ireland native is now getting a big fight in Boston, which has a significant Irish American population — much like his idol Conor McGregor did as he rose up the UFC rankings. Machado Garry, 25, has three KO/TKO finishes in those five UFC victories.
UFC 292 will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and rising star Sean O’Malley. In the co-main event, UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili defends her title against Amanda Lemos.