After its card placement sparked a considerable backlash among UFC fans, the middleweight match-up between Bo Nickal and Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322 later this month has been demoted.
Per an update to the official UFC 322 line-up on the promotion’s website, Nickal vs. Vieira now serves as the featured preliminary card fight for the event. The card takes place on November 15, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Previously, the Nickal fight had been slotted in for the main card, causing something of an uproar given Nickal’s most recent performance. The NCAA wrestling champ came into MMA as a hot blue chip prospect, but after winning his first four UFC bouts and improving his overall record in MMA to 7-1, was put away by Reinier de Ridder back in May
The demotion has raised eyebrows for one key reason: Nickal previously claimed he would “retire” if he was ever booked on the prelims. “Do I look like, am I a prelim guy? I’m not a prelim guy. If I have to fight on the prelims, I’ll just retire, I’m done,” the middleweight said during an appearance on The MMA Hour in 2022 (h/t BJPenn.com).
However, more recently, Bo Nickal had changed his tune. “I was definitely arrogant, but there was a little bit of truth to that in my position, but at the same time, it was arrogant,” Nickal stated in a more recent interview with Ariel Helwani (h/t MMA Mania). “So, now I don’t really care where I fight,” Nickal added. “If UFC wants to put me first on the fight card, then I’m happy to do it.”
