Bo Nickal ‘asked for’ former double champ Reinier De Ridder - ‘It’s a natural step up for me’

Alexander Behunin specializes in running MMAmania.com's various social media accounts, as well as covering live UFC events, interviewing the sports biggest stars and personalities.

Bo Knows!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight super prospect Bo Nickal makes his first appearance of the year at UFC Des Moines on Sat., May 3, 2025, and the three-time NCAA Division I national champion from Penn State University is getting a pretty big step up in competition—but he asked the UFC brass for it.

Indeed, Nickal takes on former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

Today (Mon., March 17, 2025), Nickal explained his thought process behind choosing de Ridder to Ariel Helwani.

“This is a matchup that I asked for, and I feel like it’s a matchup that’s exciting for a lot of reasons,” Nickal said. “He’s had a lot of success in other organizations and success in the UFC, and it’s a natural step up for me. I want to keep fighting better and better guys, and this is a guy with a proven track record and many, many finishes.”

“It’s an interesting matchup. It’s a similar matchup to the Paul Craig fight, where he’s got more of a jiu-jitsu style,” Nickal added. “I think, obviously, with him being on a win streak and having a different type of style on the feet, it will prove to be an interesting fight. I’m pumped up.”

Nickal did reveal that he asked the UFC for “a dozen names,” but he realizes that it’s getting harder to match him up with opponents that make sense.

“There are some people who want to fight me, and there are a lot who don’t. It seems like the people who want to fight me—it’s all upside for them, and they want to gain some clout off my name,” Nickal said. “As I move up the rankings, the people who don’t want to fight me have a lot to lose. It’s an interesting position, and in reality, there are only about half a dozen people I can fight because of what makes sense for my career.”

Nickal is coming off a lackluster fight with Paul Craig, after which UFC president Dana White admitted his top prospect “needs work.”

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