Report: Bo Nickal receives new opponent for UFC 290

After Bo Nickal saw his former opponent Tresean Gore drop out of UFC 290 due to injury, he received a new opponent according to Marcel Dorff.

“Fight Saved (siren emojis),” Dorff wrote on Twitter. “Bo Nickal (4-0) stays on (UFC 290). He takes on undefeated late replacement Val Woodburn (7-0) this Saturday in Las Vegas.”

This will be Woodburn’s debut but he is undefeated as Dorff wrote. He was scheduled to appear on Dana White’s Contender Series later this year.

Nickal seemingly confirmed the new bout as well with a subtle tweet.

👀😏

— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) July 4, 2023

(Eye emoji and smirk emoji),” Nickal wrote on Twitter.

Nickal is 4-0 in MMA and won his UFC debut back in March against Jamie Pickett via arm triangle submission. So far, he’s a fast riser throughout the promotion and could very well be a superstar at middleweight (185 pounds).

The former Penn State three-time wrestling national champion made no secret about his goals in UFC.

Bo Nickal receives new opponent amid UFC rise

He had instant championship aspirations. Nickal previously called out middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira for their lack of grappling skills.

At that time, Pereira TKO’d Adesanya to claim the belt. Adesanya would get it back in April.

“That’s a relatively, I would say – I’m not going to say ‘easy’ fight, because he’s dangerous,” Nickal said of Pereira in February. “But as far styles go, that’s a great matchup for me. I’ve watched their fight a couple times, and the grappling (is where I’d win). The striking exchanges are super impressive – that goes without saying. They’re absolutely elite strikers. But when they get ahold of each other, it’s just almost, like, funny.

Pereira is set to move up to light heavyweight while Nickal begins his climb up the middleweight division.

Nickal attempted to make the USA Olympic Wrestling Team in 2021, but fell short of a team spot to fellow former Penn State national champion David Taylor, who went on to win a gold medal last summer. Nickal fully turned his attention to MMA, opening up an American Top Team gym near Penn State’s campus, training regularly with UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal.

In his four seasons at Penn State, Nickal compiled a 120-3 record, won three NCAA titles (two at 184 pounds and one at 197 pounds), was a four-time All-American (national finalist in 2016 at 174 pounds) and finished his career on a 67-match winning streak.