Bo Bumped Down UFC 300 After Fan Outrage

A lightweight contender bout between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan has been bumped up the card.

Bo Nickal’s premium placement on the upcoming UFC 300 card in April has generated a lot of discussion amongst MMA fans, and not in a good way.

Nickal is a three time NCAA Division I national champion and one of the hottest prospects in the sport. Unless he fizzles hard, he’s going to develop into a solid middleweight contender that will terrorize any stand-up specialists in his division. Some believe he’s destined to be a champion. So what’s the harm in putting him on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 300 so more fans can check him out?

For one thing, even if Nickal is future champion material, a win over unranked Cody Brundage isn’t going to prove it. For another, UFC 300 is stacked with past champions and future Hall of Famers. Featuring Bo above them displays a certain lack of respect for their accomplishments. And based on a recent small change to the UFC 300 bout order, it seems like the UFC agrees with that assessment.

When UFC 300’s bout order was revealed, it had Nickal vs. Brundage as the second fight on the pay-per-view, above Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan. After an outpouring of anger directed at Nickal, Brundage, and the UFC, that was changed. New promotion for the card now has Nickal vs. Brundage as the opening PPV fight of the night.

Considering a win for Oliveira or Tsarukyan could propel them into the next lightweight title fight, it seems only appropriate that the bout take place above a Bo Nickal squash match. Not that bout order is important to anyone but hardcore fans. UFC 300 is stacked from bottom to top with amazing fights, and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt will still be great despite being relegated to the early prelim curtain jerker spot.

So does it really matter? No. Was it the right call? Definitely.