Bo Nickal and Yoel Romero were set to battle in the co-main event of Real American Freestyle 5 this past weekend in a 205-pound matchup. But at Saturday’s official weigh-in, Romero lost seven pounds in weight, giving Nickal the choice of whether or not he wanted to face Romero and continue with the match.
Nickal refused to grant Romero a catchweight bout, and the matchup was canceled and removed from the card. The card was headlined by a clash between former UFC title holders Colby Covington and Luke Rockhold.
After it was announced that Nickal vs. Romero did not continue, fans targeted Nickal on social media and criticized his decision not to continue with the match.
Bo Nickal explains the reason behind the rejected Yoel Romero RAF 5 showdown
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani ShowNickal spoke about his refusal to compete in RAF 5 after Romero’s weight loss.
“It was tough,” Nickal said. “It was a tough situation. I got there in Florida, had all my family and friends over and was looking forward to competing. Saturday morning at the weigh-ins, I weighed in at exactly 9:00 a.m. I woke up around 203, ate and drank to get to 205, waited about 45 minutes for Yoel to get there, and he waited a while. So when he didn’t step on the scale right away, I kind of knew he was over. I was expecting two, three, four pound and No worries. We’ll get to it. But he got in at 212.
“People want to see me compete, which I do, but they don’t understand what it’s like to be in that position. This is not fun and it’s not a game. This is not a charity match. This is a professional sporting event. I turned pro, and unfortunately he didn’t. That’s what it is. I was ready to wrestle. If he makes the weight, obviously we’ll go. So that’s not on me.” (h/t MMA fighting)
Nickal is expected to return to the UFC Octagon later this year. He hasn’t fought since a knockout win over Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322.
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