Bo Nickal’s career-best win at UFC 309 didn’t get a positive reception from Madison Square Garden spectators.
Bo Nickal outpointed the veteran Paul Craig for the biggest win of his career at UFC 309. Despite digging deep to defeat Craig over three rounds, Nickal was mercilessly booed by the Madison Square Garden crowd, except for U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump and a few others.
Nickal walked away with a unanimous decision victory to remain undefeated in his professional MMA career. The former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler is considered a once-in-a-generation prospect by many MMA analysts.
Nickal took a unique approach away from wrestling against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Craig. Instead of utilizing his elite grappling, Nickal decided to make it a standup fight, but his activity level wasn’t to the crowd’s liking.
Nickal found repeated success with his straight-right as the fight progressed, dealing significant damage to Craig late. He wobbled Craig badly in the closing minutes before pushing the brakes on his volume.
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Boo birds reign supreme after Bo Nickal’s UFC 309 win
The UFC 309 broadcast team was torn on how to score Nickal vs. Craig due to the handful of slow moments in the fight. But, Nickal walked away with the win and enjoyed a brief cageside conversation with Trump.
Moments before, Nickal was the target of ‘Overrated’ chants from the crowd as he moved closer to securing the win over Craig.
Nickal is just six fights into his MMA career after transitioning from a decorated collegiate wrestling tenure. He earned an invitation to Dana White’s Contender Series after just one professional fight, a 33-second knockout at Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC 3.
Despite his lack of experience with his striking, Nickal opted for the unconventional approach at UFC 309. His striking-first approach was likely due to the ground threat that Craig possesses.
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Bo Nickal’s rapid rise hits a speed bump at UFC 309
Nickal entered UFC 309 unbeaten in his professional MMA career with three wins inside the Octagon. He most recently defeated Cody Brundage by second-round submission at UFC 300.
After two quick finishes on DWCS, Nickal made his highly-anticipated UFC debut last year at UFC 285. He needed mere minutes to tap out Jamie Pickett with an arm-triangle choke.
Nickal has a future matchup with top UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in his sights. But, his UFC 309 performance might further delay his pursuit of the middleweight championship conversation.
Despite his elite skillset, Nickal is still relatively inexperienced in MMA, but fans are becoming impatient with his at-times slow-paced style.