This past Saturday on the main card of UFC 309, we saw a middleweight showcase featuring one of the top prospects in the promotion. Bo Nickal (7-0) was looking to remain undefeated and move to 4-0 inside the octagon as he took on Paul “Bearjew” Craig (17-9-1).
Craig presented a very interesting challenge for Bo Nickal as Craig is a submission expert. He’s not known for his striking at all, but his ground game is very good. He’s submitted the likes of former champ Jamahal Hill and top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev off his back. Nickal is a former NCAA champion wrestler so I figured this would lead to a striking match and that’s what we saw.
Bo Nickal had a solid performance on Saturday using just his striking. That said, it was the furthest thing from domination. I think it’s fairly clear that he got the better of things, but it wasn’t a dominant win like he’s been saying after the fact. The fight went all three rounds without Nickal looking for one takedown and he got the decision win moving to 4-0 in the UFC.
What’s next after UFC 309?
The fact is that there’s been a lot of hype surrounding Bo Nickal and he’s bought into that hype a little. He’s talked about future fights with the likes of Khamzat Chimaev and the guys at the top of the division. That said, the reality is that he’s not ready for that level of competition. Dana White made that clear in the post-fight press conference after UFC 309?
That said, Nickal still has the makings to be a world champion and this was only his seventh professional fight. He just needs time to bring everything together. With that in mind, what will the UFC do next with Bo Nickal? I really don’t see him getting a ranked opponent in his next fight. I think he needs one more win before ranked competition.
In looking at the middleweight division, there are two fights that jump out to me as possibilities. The first fight is Reinier de Ridder. De Ridder is a former ONE champion and he made his debut earlier this month with a submission win over Gerald Meerschaert. It wasn’t the most impressive octagon debut, but he’s 18-2 and he’s a former world champion.
He is extremely dangerous on the ground so this could be another opportunity for Nickal to work on just fighting using his strikes. If the UFC wants to give him someone more dangerous on the feet, I think a great test would be Joe Pyfer. Pyfer is 4-1 inside the octagon with four finishes. He has great submissions and he’s extremely powerful on the feet. This would be a massive test for Nickal.
Not sure the promotion would go there, but I love the idea of that fight.