After the card’s placement sparked a backlash among UFC fans, the middleweight bout between Bo Nickal and Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322 later this month has been relegated.
According to an update to the official UFC 322 lineup on the promotion’s website, Nickal vs. Vieira now as the featured preliminary card fight for the event. The card will take place on November 15, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Previously, the Nickal fight had been scheduled for the main card, which caused a bit of a stir considering Nickal’s most recent appearance. The NCAA wrestling champion entered MMA as a promising talent, but after winning his first four UFC fights and improving his overall MMA record to 7-1, he was dismissed by Reinier de Ridder in May.
The relegation has raised eyebrows for one big reason: Nickal previously claimed he would “retire” if he was ever booked in the prelims. “Do I look like, am I a prelim guy? I’m not a prelim guy. If I have to fight in the prelims, I’ll just retire, I’m done,” the middleweight said during an appearance on The MMA hour in 2022 (hours/ton BJPenn.com).
Recently, however, Bo Nickal had changed his tune. “I was definitely arrogant, but there was some truth to that in my position, but at the same time it was arrogant,” Nickal said in a more recent interview with Ariel Helwani (h/t Mmas Mania). “So now I don’t really care where I fight,” Nickal added. “If the UFC wants to put me on the fight card first, I’m happy to do that.”
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