An undisclosed injury to Gore has Nickal left without an opponent just four days before his UFC 290 fight is set to go down.
UFC 290 has just taken another last-minute hit affecting another top prospect.
Three time NCAA Division I champion Bo Nickal was originally supposed to face Tresean Gore on this weekend’s pay-per-view card from Las Vegas, Nevada. But according to reports from The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani, that fight has been scratched with just four days to go.
“Bo Nickal is need of a new opponent for this weekend’s UFC 290 card, sources say,” Helwani wrote on Twitter. “His opponent Tresean Gore is out due to injury. UFC is working on keeping Nickal on the card, I’m told. Hoping to finalize a new bout today.”
Aside from his extremely impressive wrestling credentials, Bo Nickal has established himself as a fighter to watch after running through two opponents on Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 in the first round. He earned another first round submission win for his official UFC debut in March 2023, defeating Jamie Pickett — although that win wasn’t without controversy.
Tresean Gore came into the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter 29, where he made it to the finals only to be derailed by a knee injury. Since then he’s gone 1-2 in the UFC.
Penn State Magazine declared this the most memorable moment in their sports history ?? @NoBickal https://t.co/6AAdM2c5gc pic.twitter.com/vzshWI2O43
— Powers_Of_PSU (@powers_of_psu) June 19, 2023
This is the second fight to drop out of UFC 290 in the past couple of days. Late last week, No. 14 ranked welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena had his opportunity to take on No. 8 ranked Sean Brady snatched away after Brady withdrew due to a bad staph infection. He’ll now fight UFC newcomer Josiah Harrell.
Will Nickal also get a new signee to the UFC in order to keep him on the card? Or will be the UFC be able to find someone already on the roster to test the wrestling standout? We’ll keep you posted as the story develops.