Bo Nickal and Paul Craig at UFC 309 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Jake Noecker/Cageside Press
Middleweight prospect and award-winning collegiate wrestler Bo Nickal definitely stepped up at UFC 309, pairing him with Scottish veteran Paul Craig.
Craig, a former light heavyweight, is well known for his success on the back, and in theory was the perfect match for Knickal’s suffocating wrestling. Still, Craig was a gravitational underdog going into this fight, dropping four of his past five matches and needing a win.
Fight fans were excited to see a potential matchup between these qualified grapplers on the ground, but they saw a much different fight than expected. In the first round, Nickal pushed Craig forward in a southpaw stance, trying to get his back against the cage. Craig threatened to kick Nickal in the body and legs to keep the young prospect away from Nickal. Nickell defeated Craig in the first round and jumped on the judges’ scorecards.
Round 2 was close, but Nickal was once again able to outclass Craig in a mostly uneventful five minutes. For the first time in his career, Nickal was booed by a tough New York crowd. Throughout the fight, neither Nickal nor Craig attempted a single takedown. Instead of making this match a potentially 50-50 match on the ground, Nikal chose to stand up and fight the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt for the entire match.
In the third round, Nickal once again found a place on the left straight and moved forward. Craig was unable to avoid many of his opponent’s attacks and lagged behind in terms of volume. In the final moments of the match, Nickal started attacking Craig against the fence and landed the most important attack of the night. After the fight, Nikkal went to talk to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who were in attendance. Nickal told UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he felt “great” about his performance and that he will continue to grow as a fighter. Despite receiving further jeers from fans at MSG.
Official Results: Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
