Bo Nickal is in a big spot on the UFC Freedom 250 card, and his opponent believes he wanted to cherry-pick.
Nickal is set to share the Octagon with Kyle Daukaus on the White House lawn on June 14. Some have scoffed at Nickal getting such a spot when he has yet to ascend to an elite level inside the Octagon. Many have also questioned why Daukaus was chosen as an opponent.
Even Daukaus admitted to Jake Noecker of Home of Fight that he believes Nickal picked him because he views it as a more manageable fight than other options (via MMAMania.com).
“I think Bo was looking for an easier fight and easier match-up,” Daukaus said. “I would too if I was in Bo’s shoes.”
There had been some heated banter between Nickal and former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington. While some believed the two could be on a path to fighting on the UFC Freedom 250 card, Daukaus was never sold on the possibility.
“I think it was all noise,” Daukaus continued. “I will come out and say that I actually did message Colby, and I was like, ‘Yo, dude. What do you think about maybe walking me out to the fight?’ Just kinda get the fans liking it, maybe get kinda in Bo’s head. He agreed to it, but I was like, maybe I’ll just back off of this a little bit … and we kinda just got away from it.”
Daukaus is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. He is 2-0 in his second run with UFC and hasn’t lost a fight since late 2022, which was a TKO defeat to Eryk Anders that marked the end of his first tenure.
Do you think Kyle Daukaus can pull off the upset win over Bo Nickal on the UFC Freedom 250 card? Sound off in the comments below.