Tag: Bo Nickal

UFC 309 results: Bo Nickal reaches scorecards for first time, wins decision over Paul Craig

The fans in attendance at UFC 309 didn’t love it, but Bo Nickal was “fired up” after going the distance for the first time in his career.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] now knows what it’s like to go the distance in a professional MMA bout and was “fired up” about his performance, although the New York crowd disagreed.

Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) stepped into the cage at UFC 309 inside Madison Square Garden to face the toughest test of his career yet, Paul Craig. The middleweight bout went the distance, and Nickal recorded the first unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) win of his career by shutting out Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC).

With the crowd chanting “U-S-A” to begin the fight, Nickal calmly moved forward, studying Craig’s movement. Leg kicks were Nickal’s first weapon of choice. Craig responded with a solid leg kick of his own, and then searched for a few head and body kicks.

Nickal darted in and out with overhand punches as the opening round continued, looking to land a big haymaker. Craig stayed light on his feet, continuing to offer kicks without setups.

Craig talked and taunted Nickal early in Round 2, but it didn’t cause a deviation in Nickal’s approach. The overhand darts continued from Nickal when he saw the opening, while Craig kept offering single kicks at a time. In the final minute, Nickal connected with a clean left hand upstairs to quiet the few boo birds that began chirping.

In the third, the fighters appeared to be having fun in the cage, even though the crowd wasn’t loving the action. At one point, Nickal completely froze for a few seconds, and then smiled after Craig didn’t react.

Nickal would get back to his offense though, and he cracked Craig with a big overhand left, opening a cut on the right eye. Although Craig appeared rocked, Nickal didn’t hunt too hard for a finish.

While the crowd expressed their displeasure with Nickal’s performance, the standout wrestler, who coincidentally didn’t attempt a single takedown in the fight, said he was “fired up” about the fight.

Nickal, 28, had never reached the scorecards before, and in fact, never saw a third round before UFC 309. He viewed the fight as a learning and growing expereince while remaining undefeated.

Craig, 36, was a solid test for Nickal, but now walks away as a loser of three straight fights.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 309 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig at UFC 309: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Bo Nickal’s unanimous decision win over Paul Craig at UFC 309.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos by Brad Penner, Imagn Images; UFC; MMA Junkie)

UFC 309: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC 309 odds between Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig, with MMA picks and predictions.

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In a 3-round middleweight bout, Bo Nickal and Paul Craig battle at UFC 309 Saturday at Madison Square Garden on the main card. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s UFC odds around the UFC 309: Nickal vs. Craig odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The early prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET on hulu/ESPN+, while the prelims get started at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNews/FX/hulu/ESPN+. The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET on Pay-Per-View (PPV).

Records: Nickal (6-0-0) | Craig (17-8-1)

Nickal has picked up 3 wins in 3 appearances at the UFC level, and he has had finishes in each of the outings. Nickal wasted no time with a first-round submission of Jamie Pickett in his company debut at UFC 285, while making quick work of Val Woodburn in just 38 seconds with a KO/TKO at UFC 290.

Nickal had to go a little deeper against Cody Brundage last time out at UFC 300, but he ended up with the submission win in Round 2, his second victory via the method in 3 UFC battles.

Craig lost via KO/TKO to Caio Borralho last time out at UFC 301, falling in 2 rounds, and he is just 1-4 in the previous 5 fights. His lone win was a KO/TKO is Andre Muniz on July 22, 2023. He has been knocked out twice in the past 5 fights, while losing via submission once, with a unanimous decision setback, too.

The reach length for both fighters is identical at 76 inches. The southpaw Nickal has just 1.64 significant strikes landed per minute, but he is very accurate at 72.94% on those strikes. He also has a ridiculous 7.46 takedown average and submission average. Once you go to the mat with Nickal, it’s not going to end well.

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UFC 309: Nickal vs. Craig odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list UFC odds. Lines last updated at 2:27 p.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Nickal -1400 (bet $1,400 to win $100) | Craig +830 (bet $100 to win $830)
  • Total rounds: 1.5 Rounds (Over +142 | Under -180)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +610 | No -1100)

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UFC 309: Nickal vs. Craig picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

Nickal (-1400) will set you back 14 times your potential return. It’s not wise to bet such a strong favorite straight up. Even if it seems like a sure thing, there is just no value betting such a heavy favorite for such a small return. Even as part of a multi-leg parlay, it makes no sense.

You can make money in this fight by playing a 4-leg Same Game Parlay, however, using these plays:

  • Nickal by submission: Method of victory (+200)
  • Nickal: Most significant strikes (-235)
  • Under: 1.5 total rounds (-180)
  • No: Will the fight go the distance?

If you bet this 4-LEG SAME-GAME PARLAY (+444), a $10 wager nets a profit of $44.40 with a total payout of $54.40.

Over/Under (O/U)

If you prefer not to do the SGP above, or are perhaps worried about the potential of a knockout, UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS (-180) is pricey, but still the best play in terms of fight length. You can’t mess with No: Will fight go the distance? (-1100) as that requires risking 11 times the return.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig prediction, pick, start time for UFC 309

Facing his toughest test to date, will Bo Nickal leave UFC 309 still undefeated after fighting Paul Craig?

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] meet Saturday on the UFC 309 main card at Madison Square Garden in New York. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Last event: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2024: 95-89-3

Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig UFC 309 preview

After getting a main-card opening spot on the historic UFC 300 card earlier this year, the promotion is back to spotlighting Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), the former three-time NCAA national champion wrestler, in the featured bout on UFC 309 from Madison Square Garden. Nickal has cruised through his first three UFC fights, most recently submitting Cody Brundage in the second round this past April. … Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) is looking to play spoiler after losing back-to-back fights against Brendan Allen and most recently Caio Borralho in May at UFC 301.

Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig UFC 309 expert pick, predictions

The UFC continues to steadily test Nickal by giving him the spoiler machine in Craig.

Not only does Craig somewhat surprisingly have a positive record against southpaws at 4-2, but the Scotsman owns wins over some of the top names at light heavyweight in Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill.

That said, the strengths of Criag have been known for some time, and fighters are getting better at avoiding it.

Although Nickal is clearly a top-level wrestler who is falling in love with the submission game, the American southpaw has shown to have some striking and power on the feet that are worth respecting.

I would love to be wrong here, but I suspect that Nickal finds a way to produce a stoppage via strikes in Round 2.

Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig UFC 309 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the American fighter, listing Nickal (-1700) and Craig (+730) via FanDuel.

Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig UFC 309 start time, how to watch

As the featured bout, Nickal and Craig are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 11:15 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Will Donald Trump be at UFC 309? Dana White won’t say for sure

It’s become a sort of tradition for Donald Trump to attend the biggest of UFC events, but will that be the case for UFC 309?

(This story was updated to add new information.)

It’s become a sort of tradition for Donald Trump to attend the biggest of UFC events. Will that be the case for UFC 309?

Combat sports events don’t get much bigger than when they take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, as is the case with UFC 309 headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

President-elect Trump, just more than a week removed from his big win over Vice President Kamala Harris, has a lot on his plate as he continues to make key hires for his second administration before he takes office Jan. 20. But it’s not out of the question that he could make time to attend UFC 309, where good friend and UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] is certain to roll out the figurative red carpet for him. Every time Trump has attended a UFC event, he’s been met with cheers by an MMA fan base that overwhelmingly adores him.

So, will that happen again on Saturday night?

Dana White mum on Donald Trump attending UFC 309

As of Friday afternoon, nothing was concrete and nothing reported about Trump attending UFC 309, although there’s been lots of chatter. After the UFC 309 press conference, White was asked about Trump being in attendance, but the UFC boss wouldn’t say for sure.

“He always gets a good reception wherever we are,” White told a group of reporters. “And, yeah, he’s a fan. He could pop up this weekend. You never know.”

Donald Trump told two UFC 309 fighters he’d be there

A pair of fighters on the card – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] and [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] – revealed that Trump previously told them he expected to be cageside at MSG.

“He said, ‘I’ll either be there on Nov. 16 because we won the election, or if I lost, I’ll be depressed, and I won’t show up,'” Chandler recently told TMZ. “Obviously he won the election, so it sounds like he’s going to be there.”

Nickal echoed a similar message during an appearance this week on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”

“I think he’s gonna be there,” Nickal said. “He told me a couple of times that he’s gonna be there. He’s the President. … I’m sure that if he’s not (at UFC 309), there was something else that was more important.”

Donald Trump at UFC events

Since his career in politics began with his winning the presidential election in 2016, Trump has tapped into support from the MMA fan base through White and the UFC. The relationship is so close knit that White spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2016, 2020 (virtually) and 2024 Republican National Conventions. White was at Mar-a-Lago to celebrate with Trump on election night last week.

Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a UFC event when he was cageside for UFC 244 in November 2019 at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz for the BMF title. Less than two years later, Trump attended UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which was headlined by the trilogy between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

With the 2024 election drawing near, Trump ramped up his attendance of UFC events as he returned at UFC 287 in April 2023 held in Miami. Trump followed that up with a second 2023 appearance in November at UFC 295 in New York. Trump most recently attended UFC 299 this past March in Miami.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Photos: UFC 309 pre-fight press conference from New York

Check out these photos from the UFC 309 press conference in New York City.

Check out these photos from the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference in New York, which featured [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag], [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag], [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag], and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]. (Photos by Per Haljestam for MMA Junkie)

UFC 309 full press conference faceoffs video: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2, more

In addition to main event, UFC 309 press conference faceoffs included Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler and Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig.

NEW YORK – The stars of UFC 309 main card athletes came face to face for the first time during fight week following Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

With fight week festivities rolling on, the athletes for the card took the stage to answers questions from the media, then engaged in staredowns ahead of Saturday’s event, which takes place at Madison Square Garden (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).

In addition to the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic heavyweight championship main event, the anticipated five-round lightweight rematch between [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag], as well as the middleweight main card bout of [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] was also in attendance and participated in faceoffs.

Watch the video above to see the full pre-fight press conference faceoffs ahead of UFC 309.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Bo Nickal confident in grappling Paul Craig at UFC 309

Bo Nickal is not afraid to test his jiu-jitsu against Paul Craig at Saturday’s UFC 309.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is not afraid to go to the ground with jiu-jitsu specialist [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]. At all.

Nickal, a UFC middleweight prospect and decorated collegian wrestler, responded to Craig’s claims that he’s vastly superior to him in the jiu-jistsu department by warning Craig on underestimating that part of his game ahead of their main card bout at Saturday’s UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.

“The guys that I’m training with and I’m working with in jiu-jitsu are, they’re not good at jiu-jitsu for MMA, they’re the best guys in the world at sport jiu-jitsu,” Nickal said. “I think he’d be surprised at how good my overall submission grappling is. I mean, the first grappling match I ever took was against Gordon Ryan, who’s one of the pound-for-pound No. 1 (grappling) fighters in the world, and he couldn’t submit me for 13 minutes, and that was with three training sessions in that sport. So I think he’d be surprised with my grappling.”

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who many believe is destined to become uFC champion, sees Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) as the right step in his career. He said that he called for the fight, but that it’s nothing personal. Nickal just thinks it’s a bout that makes sense for him.

“It’s just a step-up in competition,” Nickal said. “For me, who I fight doesn’t matter as much as the way I’m developing and improving in the sport. He’s a guy that’s got a ton of experience. He’s a guy that poses a lot of danger and interesting problems to solve, so it makes sense for my career and where I’m at.

“It’s not personal at all. It’s just another step in the direction I’m headed. I’m excited for it. This is the biggest challenge that I’ve had. I think everybody would agree to that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

UFC 309’s Paul Craig points out what could lead to Bo Nickal’s demise

Paul Craig sees his jiu-jitsu being Bo Nickal’s kryptonite, and he’s ready to prove it at UFC 309.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] sees his jiu-jitsu being [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s kryptonite.

Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) takes on highly touted Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) main card at Madison Square Garden in New York. Nickal has predominantly used his wrestling in his six professional fights, but Craig warns that it could lead to his demise.

“He’s still a little green in the color,” Craig said of Nickal during Wednesday’s UFC 309 media day. “He might have all these credentials in the world of wrestling, but this sport is not wrestling. We incorporate wrestling, and it’s like only having a knife in a gun fight. You need to have all the tools, and I believe my tool belt is much more equipped than his. I do believe the roots to my victory is going to be my jiu-jitsu base.”

Wrestling might be Nickal’s world, but Craig said battling off his back is where he’s best. He was able to finish both former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev while in bottom position.

“Will Bo take me down? Yes,” Craig said. “Will that be a bad idea for Bo? I believe so. I believe if you pin me on my back, that’s where I’m most dangerous, and we’ve seen that against people like Krylov, when I’ve been on my back against Jamahal Hill. This is where I’m most dangerous. So, I do believe that his game plan should not be to take me down and have me flat on my back.”

Nickal was able to show off his hands recently in a 38-second TKO win of Val Woodburn, and Craig acknowledges that. However, he expects his striking to pose bigger problems.

“He’s a very good striker, he’s got power in his hands, and he’s very, very quick,” Craig said. “But I do believe that my striking is just a little bit longer, and I can use that range. The reason we moved down to middleweight is to gain that advantage in size, and I’ve showcased that against people like (Andre) Muniz in London where I used my range, my length to manipulate the distance between the fight, and I’m looking to copy that in this fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Bo Nickal thought lopsided UFC 309 odds vs. Paul Craig ‘would be even crazier’

Bo Nickal is not surprised to be a massive favorite against Paul Craig at UFC 309, even though it’s his toughest test to date.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is oozing confidence ahead of UFC 309.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Paul Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Craig holds wins over the likes of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev during his light heavyweight tenure. But despite his experience, Nickal is a whopping -1100 favorite, according to DraftKings, with Craig a +700 underdog.

Nickal went so far as to say he expected the odds to be even wider.

“No, the odds don’t really surprise me,” Nickal said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I actually figured they would be even crazier. It’s almost like a mania. Every time I come to fight, I think the people know who is going to win, so it’s all good.”

That being said, Nickal does acknowledge that, on paper, Craig is his toughest test to date.

“Of course a lot of people know Paul Craig, and he’s had some really big wins in his career,” Nickal said. “He’s a dangerous opponent. He’s finished guys who have been champion and fought for the belt, so this is definitely the most dangerous fight I’ve had up to this point and a big step up.

“But I feel prepared and ready to just continue to build my reputation. …That’s what I want to do. I want to have a step up in competition every single time I fight. I felt like this was a step up and an appropriate one, and it just gives me a chance to continue to build my reputation, test my skills, and improve as a fighter overall.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.