That didn’t take long!
Just a few days removed from earning an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract, Bo Nickal has been booked to make his official debut with the promotion. According to ESPN, the wrestling standout will face off against Jamie Pickett at the upcoming UFC 282 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 10, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nickal locked down his contract after his second straight dominant appearance on the Contender Series, running right over Donavan Beard and scoring a first-round submission 52 seconds into the fight earlier this week (see it again here). That win was one month removed from his win over Zachary Borrego — a 62-second submission — also on the Contender Series.
Much was made about Dana White’s decision not to award Nickal a contract following his first eye-opening performance, opting to have him prove himself one more time before locking down a contract. Now that he’s in the promotion, matchmakers are wasting no time getting him back into the cage.
Pickett, meanwhile, is currently on a two-fight losing streak and was last seen getting knocked out by Denis Tiuliulin at UFC 279 earlier this month. Prior to that, “The Nightwolf” was submitted by Kyle Daukaus in February. Pickett is just 2-4 since making his UFC debut in Dec. 2020.
While no main event has been booked for the final UFC PPV card of 2022, the card will include a Welterweight fight between Robbie Lawler and Santiago Ponzinibbio, as well as a Heavyweight slugfest between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Chris Daukaus.