Tag: Bo Nickal

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.”

[lawrence-related id=2784686,2784392,2777824,2773978]

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

Overreaction Time: UFC 309 bold predictions, plus will Jake Paul embarrass Mike Tyson?

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” looking ahead to Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, and more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Danny Segura debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] will finish [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] at UFC 309, no doubt about it.
  • Jones’ legacy will take a hit if he loses to Miocic.
  • Sorry, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], but Jones definitely should fight [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] if he wins at UFC 309.
  • [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] WILL steal the show at UFC 309.
  • [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is poised to have a breakout performance at UFC 309.
  • [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag] is about to embarrass himself against[autotag] Jake Paul[/autotag].

Watch the full episode in the video above.

UFC 309’s Bo Nickal confident he’d make quick work of Shara Magomedov

Bo Nickal likes how he matches up with Shara Magomedov.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] likes how he matches up with [autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag].

Magomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) earned his most impressive octagon finish to date when he knocked out Armen Petrosyan with a double backfist at UFC 308 in October.

Nickal was impressed with the finish, but thinks “Bullet” is an easy stylistic matchup for him.

“I would like to fight him, but it’s not a tough fight, and I would have to go to Abu Dhabi,” Nickal said of Magomedov on his YouTube channel. “I would have to go to Saudi (Arabia), which – I would do it, but I think it’s not a tough fight.

“And also, the UFC probably doesn’t want that right now. Maybe they would. Maybe they don’t give a crap: Go over to Saudi, make a quick check, 90 seconds, call it a day, fly back.”

However, based on Magomedov’s opposition in the UFC so far, standout wrestler Nickal doesn’t see them crossing paths.

“I don’t know. It would be fun though,” Nickal continued. “I think they’re just going to keep putting him against strikers, but we’ll see.”

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns to action Nov. 16 when he takes on Paul Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout on the UFC 309 main card at Madison Square Garden. He is once again a massive betting favorite, this time -1000 according to DraftKings.

[lawrence-related id=2784392,2777824,2773978,2751052]

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

Bo Nickal OK with slow approach to top, wants first UFC title fight ‘to look like a masterclass’

Bo Nickal wants to be an undeniable UFC champion.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] wants to be an undeniable UFC champion.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Paul Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout Nov. 16 on the UFC 309 main card at Madison Square Garden. Despite his dominance in the octagon, Nickal has opted to take an adequate amount of time between each fight. He continues to get criticized for his lack of activity, but the standout wrestler explains how his situation is different.

“For me, the most important thing is developing, and I don’t want to skip steps on development,” Nickal said on the “MightyCast” podcast. “You mentioned Diego Lopes. … These guys have 20-plus pro fights. He feels he’s ready to go. I fought six times in a little over two years. So, is that infrequent? I wouldn’t say it’s infrequent. I think people maybe forget that I’ve only been fighting since the summer of 2022 professionally. But with that being said, I think it’s really a good thing because people want to see me fight. They want to see me compete, and personally I want to compete as much as I can, but at the end of the day, it’s like, let’s say I fight a ranked guy next, then I fight a top five guy, and then I’m fighting for the title. It’s not like this long path that I have to get to where I want to go.

“So for me, the development and the improvement, a lot of it has to happen in training. I feel like I can compete with and beat the best guys in the world right now, but I don’t want it to be competitive when it happens. So, when I go out there and I’m competing for the belt, I want it to look like a masterclass where this guy’s not even on my level. I think right now there’s a lot of improvements that I need to make to get to that point. I think that it’s not all 100 percent up to me with the timing of how things work out, but I’m going to do my best to be prepared. And I feel like I’ve been put in a position where I have to make those improvements in training, and I don’t have the luxury of being able to get 15-20 fights before I’m there. Like I’m realistically probably going to be there at 10-11 fights.”

With his experience and notable wins over former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev, Craig presents Nickal’s toughest test to date on paper.

However, oddsmakers still have Nickal as a heavy favorite. According to DraftKings, Nickal is a -1000 favorite over Craig, who is a +600 underdog.

[lawrence-related id=2777824,2773978,2748959]

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

UFC 309 full fight card announced for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic event

How would you rate UFC 309 on a scale of 1-10?

With UFC 308 in the books, the promotion’s attention turns to its yearly New York pay-per-view.

UFC 309 takes place Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden and is headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and former champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag].

During the UFC 308 broadcast Saturday, the promotion officially announced the full 13-fight lineup with five main card fights and eight prelims. The main card takes place on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

In the co-main event, lightweight stars [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] throw down in a five-round bout. The main card rounds out with [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag], [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag], and [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag].

The featured prelim is currently half-unknown with [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] in need of a replacement for the withdrawn [autotag]Charlie Campbell[/autotag].

Other notable prelims include [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Azamat Murzakanov[/autotag], [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag], and [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag].

Check out the full UFC 309 lineup below:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira – five-round bout
  • Viviane Aruajo vs. Karine Silva
  • Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
  • Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Mauricio Ruffy vs. TBA
  • Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
  • Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Damon Jackson vs. Jim Miller

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Lucas Almeida vs. David Onama
  • Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
  • Oban Elliott vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

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

Bo Nickal maps out five-fight plan to UFC title: ‘This is a good step up with Paul Craig’

Bo Nickal reiterates he is in no rush to climb to the top.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] reiterates he is in no rush to climb to the top.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) faces his most notable name to date when he takes on [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout at UFC 309 Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden.

Although Nickal is a highly touted prospect, he isn’t looking to be fast tracked. He has an idea of how his path to the UFC title will look like.

“This is a good step up with Paul Craig,” Nickal said on his YouTube channel. “So, take care of business and then I want to (fight) two more guys that are unranked. Then fight a ranked guy.

“So at that point, I’ll be 7-0, 8-0, 9-0, fight a ranked guy, 10-0. 11-0, probably fight a top-five guy, and then fight for the belt around 12-0. That’s what I’m planning on right now. We’ll see, but definitely zoom focused on this next fight.”

If he can get through Craig, Nickal hopes to draw bigger names moving forward.

“I’m just going to smash this guy, and then I want to get exciting fights now,” Nickal said. “I feel like I’ve fought enough guys that have kind of not really been very dangerous to me. I haven’t even been hit really in a real fight yet.

“So I want to start fighting better guys for sure. Once I get a ranked fight, I think I’m only going to have to fight two or three before the belt. At that point, it’s like straight to it.”

[lawrence-related id=2773978,2748959,2733235]

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

UFC’s Bo Nickal responds to fan’s incendiary post criticizing him for inactivity

When a fan called Bo Nickal a “complete disappointment,” that prompted the rising UFC star to retort.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is in no rush to get to the top of the UFC.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) faces his sternest test to date at UFC 309 where he’ll meet Paul Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s been a slow rise for the 28-year-old former collegiate national champion wrestler as he wants to ensure that he’s ready for the upper echelon of the division.

Despite fighting three times in 2022, twice in 2023, and what will be a second time in 2024 at UFC 309, Nickal was criticized for not fighting more frequently.

One fan shared an incendiary post on X in which he argued that Nickal, having finished five of six professional wins in the first round, should be more active, calling him a “complete disappointment” so far in his UFC career.

“Bro you are a complete disappointment,” the fan wrote. “You finish all your fights within 2mins, take ZERO damage, yet you go home, sit down for MONTHS at a time while all your hype and momentum dies. Why? Makes no sense whatsoever. This is why nobody is out here looking for you, this is why when you’re not fighting nobody cares. You need to wake tf up because it’s so damn annoying”

That fan got a response from Nickal.

“I’m training brother,” Nickal wrote back. “Not like these other guys who sit on the couch when they’re not in camp. I’ve been fighting professionally since June of 2022. Anyone else near my position has over a decade of experience and 3-5x as many fights. I’m on my own path and having fun, just enjoy the show.”

In his most recent outing at UFC 300 in April, Nickal saw a second round for the first time in his career when he submitted Cody Brundage. He has finished all of his amateur and professional wins.

[lawrence-related id=2748959,2735012,2733235]

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

Bo Nickal draws Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New York

Bo Nickal will face the sternest test of his career at UFC 309.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] will face the sternest test of his career at UFC 309.

Nickal takes on gritty grappler [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] in a middleweight bout Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York, UFC CEO Dana White announced during the UFC 306 broadcast. The fight was first reported by Benny P on “X.”

28-year-old standout wrestler Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has finished his first three octagon opponents, most recently submitting Cody Brundage at UFC 300 in April. He saw a second round for the first time against Brundage.

Craig (17-8-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC), who holds notable finishes of former champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev at light heavyweight, sought new life by dropping down to 185 pounds. After finishing Andre Muniz in his divisional debut, he was stopped in back-to-back fights by Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho.

With the addition, the UFC 309 fight card includes:

  • Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
  • Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
  • Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
  • Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura
  • Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
  • Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal

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

UFC on ABC 6 winner Shara Magomedov responds to Bo Nickal’s callout: ‘Wrestling, takedowns, no problem’

Shara Magomedov welcomes Bo Nickal’s challenge.

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag] welcomes [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s challenge.

Magomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) knocked out Antonio Trocoli (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the third round of Saturday’s UFC on ABC 6 main card at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his finish.

Fellow undefeated middleweight prospect Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) took to social media to call out Magomedov, who’s confident he can handle the standout wrestler on the ground.

“Bo Nickal, interesting fight, interesting opponent,” Magomedov told reporters at the UFC on ABC 6 post-fight press conference. “He has good wrestling. Wrestling now, for me, no problem. I’m from Dagestan, you know, brother, Russian. Russian men are icemen. No problem. Wrestling, takedowns, no problem. Dangerous damage, elbow, knee. Let’s go.”

Despite only having two octagon wins under his belt, Magomedov is ready to take on the upper echelon of the division. However, he laid out an array of potential opponents when asked to give names – both notable and rising contenders.

“If we’re taking about big names, then we’re going to talk Kevin Holland, we’re going to talk Nick Diaz, and we’re going to talk Conor McGregor,” Magomedov said. “But if you want to talk regular names, then we’ll call Ihor Potieria, Sedriques Dumas, who was supposed to fight on this card, and Michael Pereira.”

[lawrence-related id=2749802,2750942,2750485,2750607]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.

Bo Nickal says he was offered Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6, but didn’t have cell reception to respond

Bo Nickal says he was one of the names approached to replace Khamzat Chimaev at UFC on ABC 6.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] says he was one of the names approached to replace [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] at UFC on ABC 6.

Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) withdrew from Saturday’s headliner vs. Robert Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia due to illness. The UFC called numerous fighters as potential replacements – including Nickal, before landing on Ikram Aliskerov.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) revealed that he got a call, but was unreachable for days before he actually saw the message.

“I did get a call, yeah,” Nickal said on his YouTube channel. “Unfortunately, I got a call while I was in the mountains of Montana and I didn’t get back to cell service for three days. I came back into cell service to a few text messages saying, ‘Call me back, call me back, call me back,’ and it was too late.”

Nickal admits flying half way across the world to fight Whittaker wouldn’t have been ideal, but says the UFC’s offer was a big one.

“I’m not going to disclose numbers, but they were up there,” Nickal said. “But it was just too late. I couldn’t even really consider it because they had already kind of figured everything out, the way they were going to do it because I was gone.”

Nickal thinks a fight with Chimaev is inevitable, but questions his recent inactivity. Chimaev fought just once in the past two years – a majority win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.

“The dude’s losing his aura a bit,” Nickal said. “I don’t think he’s over-training. I think he’s over partying. I don’t know. What else would it be? I’ve just heard rumors about him and Till and stuff, like crazy stuff.”

[lawrence-related id=2748953,2748233]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.