UFC announces Bo Nickal vs. former major champion on Des Moines card

Bo Nickal is taking a step as much as battle ranked competitors.

On the promotion’s UFC Combat Night time occasion Could 3 at Wells Fargo Area in Des Moines, Iowa, Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will tackle former ONE Championship champion Reinier de Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout.

The UFC made the middleweight bout official early Friday after an preliminary report by Full Ship MMA.

Nickal, 29, has skyrocketed up the divisional ladder since crossing over from the world of collegiate wrestling. The 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, Nickal entered MMA with a embellished resume and goals to sooner or later add UFC gold to his listing of accomplishments.

After two wins on Dana White’s Contender Sequence in 2023, Nickal signed with the promotion. Finishes over Jamie Pickett, Val Woodburn, and Cody Brundage led him to a UFC 300 showdown vs. Paul Craig. Whereas he received the battle pretty lopsidedly, Nickal was criticized by some followers for the low leisure worth of the bout.

De Ridder, 34, established himself as one in all ONE Championship’s largest stars, capturing gentle heavyweight and heavyweight gold over the span of his nine-fight stint for the group.

After he misplaced each titles to Anatoly Malykhin, de Ridder exited the promotion, citing inactivity and mistreatment. After a win for UAE Warriors, de Ridder signed with the UFC in 2024. He’s since picked up back-to-back submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland.

With the addition, the UFC Combat Night time lineup for Could 3 consists of:

Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
Mason Jones vs. Jeremy Stephens
Mario Bautista vs. Marlon Vera
Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Trevor Peek
Serhiy Sidey vs. Cameron Smotherman
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
Azamat Bekoev vs. Ryan Loder