Bo Nickal faces his toughest test yet at UFC 309, but for the former Nittany Lion, it’s just another day at the office.
Storming into the UFC last year and picking up three-straight finishes, Nickal will meet submission specialist Paul Craig as part of Saturday’s highly anticipated pay-per-view event inside Madison Square Garden.
Nickal has been steadily increasing the difficulty each time he steps inside the Octagon, but ‘Bearjew’ will undoubtedly be his biggest challenge thus far. Craig is a 26-fight veteran with 18 of those scraps coming under the UFC banner. Along the way, Craig has scored nine finishes, including six submission and three KOs.
Of course, none of that matters to Nickal.
“I think it’s just a step up in competition for me. Who I fight doesn’t matter as much as the way I’m developing and improving in the sport. So, you know, I think he’s a guy that has a ton of experience. He’s a guy that poses a lot of danger and some interesting problems to solve. It makes sense for my career and where I’m at.
“It’s not really anything personal at all. It’s just another challenge.”
Bo Nickal not surprised by being a massive favorite at UFC 300
Nickal is a perfect 6-0 in his mixed martial career so far and boasts a 100% finish rate with only one of his opponents making it out of the opening round. Meanwhile, Craig will be looking to climb back into the win column after dropping back-to-back bouts against Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho.
Despite facing a known finisher with plenty of experience to boot, Nickal is sitting as a massive -1100 favorite while ‘Bearjew’ is a 7-to-1 underdog.
“No, the odds don’t really surprise me,” Nickal told Ariel Helwani. “I actually figured they would be even crazier. It’s almost like a mania. Every time I come to fight, I think the people know who is going to win, so it’s all good.”