Bo Nickal is set to continue his ascent through the middleweight division at UFC 309.
Prospects in MMA don’t get much better than Nickal, and the undefeated 6-0 Penn State alum has proven it every step of the way. After avoiding the second round in his first five fights, Nickal finally went to Round 2 against Cody Brundage at UFC 300 in April. Brundage put up a better fight than those before him, but the result was inevitable as Nickal found the rear-naked choke finish.
A veteran opponent was imminent before Nickal reached the rankings. On Saturday, Scotland’s Paul Craig will do the honors and look to teach the young gun a lesson in their Nov. 16 pay-per-view matchup.
“I think a lot of people know Paul Craig and he’s had some really big wins in his career and he’s a dangerous opponent,” Nickal said on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He’s finished guys that have been champions and fought for the belt, so this is definitely the most dangerous fight I’ve had to this point and a big step up. But I feel prepared and ready to just continue to build my reputation.”
Although the fight could still be argued as too soon for Nickal, he had no qualms about taking it when the phone rang. One would expect nothing less from the three-time NCAA champion wrestler, and the competitor in Nickal believes it’s an appropriate step up from his past six opponents.
“For me, it’s just another puzzle to solve. It’s another challenge to face,” Nickal said. “I’m looking to continue to develop my skills overall and improve and get better as a fighter. This is a different challenge to what I’ve had in the past and it makes it more fun for me. The fighting, it’s a little bit physical, but it’s mostly mental. So I’m just looking forward to going out there and showcasing my mind and fight IQ, just the way that I continue to control opponents and dominate every second.”
Against the 36-year-old submission specialist Craig, Nickal is once again expected to dominate. He’s currently a massive -1000 betting favorite to Craig’s +650 underdog.
The gulf in odds between the two is fairly surprising considering Craig holds a 20-fight edge in experience. However, Nickal, 28, believes his moneyline should be higher than it is, and attributes the possible recent skid the Scot has been on to why he’s still a gambler’s delight.
“The odds don’t really surprise me,” Nickal said. “I figured they would be even crazier. It’s almost like a mania. So, every time I come to fight, I think the people know who is gonna win. So it’s all good.
“It’s so hard to say with fighters [declining]. You can look at the trend and [Craig] losing four of his last five. I think it’s safe to say that if you look at traditional kind of careers and the way they go, his age, his last five, he’s on the back half. But you see guys make turnarounds and it’s all good.
“Paul Craig’s been a big name and a guy that’s competed in the UFC for a long time,” he added. “So hopefully, I’ll go out there, dominate him, and do what I do and they’ll keep him on the roster for at least another fight. I don’t really wish anybody ill. I’m just gonna go do my thing then hopefully he’ll just continue on whatever path he has.”
To Craig’s credit, he’s consistently fought top-ranked competition, whether at his old division of light heavyweight or the current middleweight crop. Nickal will be Craig’s first unranked opponent since his 2020 rematch with former UFC champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
The Craig matchup will no doubt be Nickal’s stiffest test yet, but he’s been vocal since he burst onto the scene about one big future showdown in particular. If he had it his way, Nickal’s dream championship pairing would come against his fellow undefeated wrestling sensation, Khamzat Chimaev.
Nickal knows there’s still a relatively tall ladder to climb before a Chimaev fight can materialize. While never overly impressed by “Borz,” Nickal admired the recent effort Chimaev displayed against former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
“It was super impressive,” Nickal said of Chimaev’s win. “To be honest, it’s funny because a lot of people expected that to be a tough fight for him, and you could ask around — all the people I talked to, I kind of thought he would do that to Whittaker. It’s one thing to think that or kind of see that happening, but he actually did it, which is super impressive. Whittaker’s not an easy fight for anybody and he made it look easy. I was really impressed with his last performance.
“It seemed like [Chimaev] kind of took a different mentality into the fight as well, which was cool to see, but that’s a fight I’m looking forward to. I think he’s obviously quite a bit ahead of me right now. He’ll be fighting for the belt soon and I’ll catch up quick.”
As impressed as Nickal was by Chimaev, there’s no praise sent toward Chimaev’s friend and occasional training parter, former UFC fighter Darren Till.
The one-time welterweight title challenger recently laughed on social media at a video of Nickal training on the heavy bag. It wasn’t the first time Till commented on Nickal or his performances. Confident as usual, Till has noted how he’d knock out the standout prospect if they fought.
From Nickal’s chair, he can’t help but sit back and laugh as Till continues his professional boxing career after leaving the UFC in early 2023.
“This dude’s hilarious,” Nickal said. “It’s so funny. I feel like Darren is the guy that I would actually probably be friends with if we trained together or were on the same team. He just seems like a funny dude.
“I acknowledge it because he’s Darren Till and he’s fought for the belt and everybody knows him, but it’s like, come on, bro. Everybody and their mother knows what I would do to you, man. And it wouldn’t be good.”
Ultimately, Nickal views Till’s jabs as nothing more than “playing the Twitter game” and trying to attach to what’s hot.
It might not do much for Nickal in terms of his championship aspirations, but financially, he would gladly welcome Till back to the Octagon.
“As far as real competitive fights, that guy, he’s not lasting more than a minute or two,” Nickal said. “I would do it because I’d get paid and make an easy check, so that’s not a problem with me. But if we’re talking realistically, no, it’s not a competitive fight.”
