Bo Nickal knows he’s destined for greatness and is determined to claim the UFC middleweight title. His journey continues on November 16th at UFC 309, where he’ll face Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden.
Nickal has demonstrated dominant performances so far, and he’s committed to maintaining his winning streak. To do so, he’s taken extended time between fights to focus on skill development and preparation—a choice that has sparked some criticism from fans who want to see him compete more frequently.
This approach has paid off, however, as Nickal has already secured impressive victories over notable opponents, including former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and top contender Magomed Ankalaev.
“For me, the most important thing is developing, and I don’t want to skip steps,” Nickal explained. “You mentioned Diego Lopes… These guys have 20-plus pro fights. I’ve fought six times in just over two years. Is that infrequent? I wouldn’t say so. People might forget that I’ve only been fighting professionally since the summer of 2022.
“But with that said, it’s a good thing that people want to see me fight. I want to compete as much as I can, but I also want to make sure I’m improving. Let’s say I fight a ranked guy next, then a top-five opponent, and then for the title. It’s not a long road to where I want to go.”
For Nickal, the emphasis remains on training to reach a level where his fights aren’t just victories—they’re masterclasses. “I feel like I can compete with and beat the best right now, but I don’t want it to be competitive when I reach the title fight,” he said. “I want it to look like a masterclass where the opponent isn’t even on my level.”
He acknowledges that his rapid path to title contention doesn’t allow him the luxury of a 20-fight experience base, but he’s committed to maximizing each training camp. “I’ll probably be in title contention by the time I have 10 or 11 fights,” Nickal noted, confident that his approach will ultimately lead him to the championship.
Continue Reading Bo Nickal: I Want My First UFC Title Fight To Look Like A Masterclass at MMA News.
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Reinier de Ridder had a lot of reasons he wanted to sign with the UFC after leaving ONE Championship but staying busy might sit near the top of his list.
After he was shelved for all of 2023 with only one fight booked in 2024, the former two-division champion was happy to leave the Singapore based promotion so he could begin working towards a much more active schedule with his new fighting home. He didn’t have to wait long after inking his deal with his first fight booked on Saturday against fellow grappler Gerald Meerschaert in a featured bout at UFC Vegas 100.
Obviously, de Ridder was very happy to know the UFC plans to keep him busy and now it’s his job to show the promotion he was worth the investment.
“That’s one of the major plusses [signing with UFC],” de Ridder told MMA Fighting. “I even started calling out heavyweights [in ONE Championship] because there were no fights. I’m not making that mistake again. Hopefully, I’m going to make it a beautiful year.
“It’s crazy. For some reason, the stars seem to be aligning. Now I just need to knock it out of the park.”
While his only real focus remains on Meerschaert this Saturday, de Ridder addressed the rest of the middleweight division with hopes to jump in the deep end of the division sooner rather than later.
Even as an observer from outside the promotion, de Ridder always kept a watchful eye on the UFC and he knows there are plenty of potential matchups awaiting him.
“Hopefully after this, I’m looking to make a statement in this fight, announce my joining the UFC with a nice performance and then hopefully I’ll get a crack at some top level guys,” de Ridder said. “There’s so many good guys.
“Like [Sean] Strickland, like [Israel] Adesanya, Dricus [du Plessis], we have some history. I fought in the same organization he did. Didn’t get a chance to fight him at that point so hopefully it’s going to be on the biggest stage this time. But even like the entire top 10 are full of killers. There’s a lot of guys that have seen some inactivity. Line them up.”
There are a couple of names in particular in the UFC that have drawn de Ridder’s interest just because it’s a chance to test his grappling against other top notch ground specialists.
In fact, de Ridder definitely plans on watching UFC 309, which takes place one week after his debut, when multi-time NCAA champion wrestler Bo Nickal makes his fourth appearance for the promotion after going 3-0 with three finishes to start his career.
Nickal is slated to face Paul Craig in a featured bout on the pay-per-view main card and while de Ridder certainly doesn’t have any ill will towards the veteran Scotsman, he can’t help but throw out a suggestion that he’d be ready to step in on short notice if the opportunity was presented to him.
“Khamzat [Chimaev] and Bo Nickal would both be amazing,” de Ridder said. “[Bo Nickal] might be a nice next step. So maybe we do something to Paul Craig, distract him a little bit and jump in?
“That’s a fun one, right? I’m down for that. So Paul Craig, take a hike.”
All jokes aside, de Ridder believes those kinds of options are now available to him in the UFC but first things first he has to get through Meerschaert on Saturday.
When that was the offer made for his debut, de Ridder didn’t hesitate to say yes even though it actually interrupted the plans he made for his training camp to get ready for his first fight in the UFC.
“I was pretty familiar [with Gerald] because I’ve been training with him for a little bit,” de Ridder revealed. “I know what he brings to the table.
“I was planning to spend my camp in Miami with Henri [Hooft] and the guys [at Kill Cliff FC] but then when I got the name, I had to send Henri a text that he might be the wrong corner again.”
On paper this might be a grappler’s dream match between two prolific submission specialists, although many times those kinds of fights end up turning into striking affairs.
De Ridder is ready for whatever gets thrown at him but he promises at some point he’s going to test his grappling skills against Meerschaert.
“I need to [take this fight down to the canvas],” de Ridder explained. “I need to represent jiu-jitsu so I’m going to try and hit him with some good shots but it’s going to go to the ground, 100 percent.”
The UFC experienced a rare decrease in revenue for the third quarter in 2024 but TKO Group Holdings as a whole still earned a profit with a massive year ahead in 2025.
New financial disclosures were released on Wednesday with the UFC revenue dropping 11 percent — $ 42.6 million to $ 354.9 million — primarily due to one less pay-per-view and two less Fight Night events compared to the same time period in 2023. The revenue loss from media rights was $ 50.4 million but that was partially offset by an increase in sponsorship revenue, which was up $ 10.2 million.
Despite holding three fewer events during the third quarter in 2024 compared to 2024, the UFC still stayed almost dead even when it came to live event revenue due to an increase in overall ticket sales year over year.
While the UFC reported a loss in revenue for the quarter, TKO Group Holdings — the parent company for UFC and WWE — still increased overall revenue by 52 percent — $ 232.1 million to $ 681.2 million. That increase was thanks to WWE with $ 242.7 million in revenue.
“TKO’s solid third quarter results reflect continued strength across UFC and WWE, particularly in live events and brand partnerships,” TKO CEO Ari Emanuel said in a press release along with the financial results. “In light of this continued momentum, we now expect to deliver at the upper end of our full-year 2024 guidance range for both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA.
“Additionally, two weeks ago we announced the authorization of a robust capital return program and an agreement to acquire industry-leading sports assets that will power our profile, give us greater scale, strengthen our position in the sports marketplace, and accelerate returns for shareholders. Just over a year since UFC and WWE came together to form TKO, our conviction in this business is as strong as ever.”
The latest financial disclosure also noted the conclusion of one of two UFC antitrust lawsuits after a settlement was reached and preliminary approval was handed down by the courts. Under terms of the agreement, TKO is set to pay out $ 375 million to settle the first of the lawsuits with a $ 125 million payment already put into escrow in October with the remaining $ 250 million expected to be paid in 2025.
A second antitrust lawsuit against the UFC is still pending.
The next year is expected to be huge for TKO with WWE kicking off a massive 10 year, $ 5 billion deal to move its flagship series Monday Night Raw to Netflix while Smackdown goes to USA Network. WWE’s other program titled NXT already began airing on the CW in a separate deal that was previously closed.
Meanwhile, the UFC is expected to begin negotiations on a new TV deal in early 2025 as the current contract with ESPN comes to a close at the end of next year. Most experts believe the UFC is in for a huge increase in overall media rights, especially with the MMA promotion as the only major sports property up for grabs for potential TV or streaming partners for the next three years.
It’s possible that the UFC potentially triples its broadcast rights deal from the one struck with ESPN that was initially worth $ 1.5 billion over five years (an additional two years was eventually added along with ESPN taking over pay-per-view broadcasts for the UFC).
Photo credit should read MICHAEL B. THOMAS/AFP via Getty Images
Lennox Lewis knows a thing or two about Mike Tyson.
“The Lion” roared past “Iron” when they went head-to-head for the IBF, IBO, and WBC heavyweight titles back in June of 2002, stopping Tyson in the eighth round and solidifying his place as one of the greatest heavyweight pugilists in history.
But he still thinks Tyson has the chops to beat Jake Paul, even at age 58.
“It’s hard to box when you’re that old, moving around the ring, throwing punches, getting punches thrown at you,” Lewis told Sky Sports. “But I think he can handle it. I was thinking that Jake Paul was going to be in trouble because Mike Tyson knows how to throw great body punches, great head shots. We just have to see if he’s going to do them in the ring. I’m hoping he’ll do that. I’ll be there, and it’s going to be exciting.”
Tyson battles Paul atop a special Netflix boxing event on Fri., Nov. 15, 2024 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the biggest fight — and biggest payday — of “El Gallo’s” career. That sort of early exposure can be considered both good and bad, according to Lewis.
“It’s good and it’s bad,” Lewis explained. “A lot of boxers that are out there training hard and working and trying to get a shot at the championship don’t get a chance. All of a sudden, a YouTuber comes along and gets all the excitement, all the praise and the money. So, in that way, it’s not fair.”
Elsewhere on the Netflix card, Katie Taylor rematches Amanda Serrano with the super lightweight title up for grabs. In addition, Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos go 12 rounds for the WBC welterweight strap, not long after Neeraj Goyat battles Whindersson Nunes.
For the finalized “Paul vs. Tyson” fight card and Netflix lineup click here.
Jon Jones is ready for UFC 309 and his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic.
Jones and Miocic headline next weekend’s pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “Bones” makes his first walk to the octagon since winning the heavyweight title at with a first-round submission of former interim champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023, and just his second outing in nearly five years.
Ahead of the matchup, Jones released new training footage as he gets set to face Miocic. Check out the video below, courtesy of Jones’ Instagram page.
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During this training camp, Jones has been training with the likes of jiu-jitsu whiz Gordon Ryan, as well as Olympic gold medalist and ex-WWE superstar Gable Steveson. The 37-year-old has continuously teased that this could be his final fight, although UFC CEO Dana White feels that if Jones is victorious, he could face current interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall in a unification bout.
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