The stacked UFC 314 fight card has taken its first hit with the cancellation of Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates.
UFC officials announced Saturday that Neal (16-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has sustained an undisclosed injury and has been forced to withdraw from the welterweight contest against Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the April 12 card at Kaseya Center in Miami (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
As a result, Prates will not get a replacement opponent for the card and will be shifted to a different opportunity in the future. UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik noted during the injury announcement that big news could be on the horizon for Prate, and the surging 170-pound contender indicated as much on social media.
Carlos Prates via. IG:
"News and good news coming soon!" 👀#UFC#MMApic.twitter.com/c0yNs0vzOG
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 30, 2025
A timeline for Neal's injury recovery and return are unknown at this time.
The latest UFC 314 lineup now includes:
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes – for vacant featherweight title
- Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva
- Patricio Freire vs. Yair Rodriguez
- Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes
- Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Chase Hooper vs. Jim Miller
- Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa
- Su Mudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo
- Alberto Montes vs. Roberto Romero
- Tresean Gore vs. Marco Tulio
- Nora Cornolle vs. Hailey Cowan
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Carlos Prates teases 'big news' after Geoff Neal injury scraps UFC 314 fight
