March 13, 2025 12:59 am ET
Bo Nickal is taking a step as much as combat ranked competitors.
At UFC on ESPN 67 on Could 3 at Wells Fargo Enviornment in Des Moines, Iowa, Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will tackle former ONE Championship champion Reinier de Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout.
The UFC made the middleweight bout official early Friday after an preliminary report by Full Send MMA.
Nickal, 29, has skyrocketed up the divisional ladder since crossing over from the world of collegiate wrestling. The 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, Nickal entered MMA with a embellished resume and goals to at some point add UFC gold to his listing of accomplishments.
After two wins on Dana White’s Contender Sequence in 2023, Nickal signed with the promotion. Finishes over Jamie Pickett, Val Woodburn, and Cody Brundage led him to a UFC 300 showdown vs. Paul Craig. Whereas he gained the combat pretty lopsidedly, Nickal was criticized by some followers for the low leisure worth of the bout.
De Ridder, 34, established himself as one among ONE Championship’s largest stars, capturing gentle heavyweight and heavyweight gold over the span of his nine-fight stint for the group.
After he misplaced each titles to Anatoly Malykhin, de Ridder exited the promotion, citing inactivity and mistreatment. After a win for UAE Warriors, de Ridder signed with the UFC in 2024. He’s since picked up back-to-back submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland.
With the addition, the UFC Struggle Evening lineup for Could 3 consists of:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
- Mason Jones vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Mario Bautista vs. Marlon Vera
- Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
- Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Trevor Peek
- Serhiy Sidey vs. Cameron Smotherman
- Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
- Azamat Bekoev vs. Ryan Loder
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC on ESPN 67.
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