Middleweight prospect and decorated collegiate wrestler Bo Nickal was getting a solid step up in competition at UFC 309, paired up with Scottish veteran Paul Craig.
Craig, a former light heavyweight, was well known for finding success off his back, the perfect pairing, in theory, for Nickal’s stifling wrestling. Still, Craig was a heavy underdog coming into the fight, and in need of a win having dropped four of his last five.
Fight fans were excited to see a potential battle on the ground between these credentialed grapplers, but we got a much different fight then expected. In the first round Nickal pressed forward in the southpaw stance looking to back Craig up against the cage. Craig threaten kicks to the body and legs of Nickal to keep the young prospect off of him. Nickal out-landed Craig in the first round jumping ahead on the judges scorecards.
Round two was the closest round of the fight but Nickal again was able to outsrike Craig in a largely uneventful five minutes. Nickal for the first time in his career was met with boo’s from the tough New York crowd. Over the course of this fight neither Nickal or Craig attempted a single takedown. Instead of making this matchup a potential 50/50 affair on the ground, Nickal elected to stand and trade with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt the entire fight.
Again in round three Nickal pressed forward finding a home for his straight left hand. Craig was unable to avoid many of the strikes of his opponent and was falling behind in terms of volume. In the final moments of the fight Nickal started to open up on Craig against the fence, landing his most significant strikes of the night. Following the fight, Nickal went over to talk to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk who were in attendance. Nickal explained to UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he “felt great” about his performance and will only continue to grow as a fighter. All while receiving more jeers from fans at MSG.
Official Result: Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
