CLEVELAND — Middleweight Bo Nickal says his next fight is coming to Cleveland. Speaking at a campaign rally in Ohio on Friday, Oct. 16, Nickal announced that his bout with Joe Pyfer, originally set for a December pay-per-view card in Las Vegas, has instead been moved to February, when he expects to headline a Fight Night event in Cleveland.
Nickal told the crowd he had just gotten the call backstage before speaking. The December date, on the UFC 335 card set for Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, is off, and the same opponent now awaits him about two months later in Northeast Ohio — a rare home-state headline slot for one of the sport’s most talked-about prospects.
Nickal built his name first as a wrestler, becoming one of the most decorated collegians of his era before turning to mixed martial arts. His move to the UFC drew immediate attention, and after suffering the first loss of his professional career in May 2025, he has answered with two straight finishes to rebuild his momentum toward the middleweight title picture.
Pyfer is no soft landing spot. Nicknamed “Bodybagz,” he carries a four-fight winning streak into the matchup, with three finishes in that run, and his most recent outing produced the biggest win of his career, a second-round stoppage of former champion Israel Adesanya. On paper, the winner in Cleveland will have a strong claim to a top contender’s fight next.
The move drew a mixed reaction from fight fans on Friday. A Nickal-Pyfer booking had been widely praised as a pay-per-view-worthy matchup, and some fans criticized taking it off the year-end numbered card. Others pointed out that headlining a Fight Night in Cleveland puts the bout in front of a full arena crowd rather than as one fight among many on a stacked December show.
For Cleveland, the announcement means a headline UFC event in February, with the downtown arena the city’s natural home for a card of that size. UFC Fight Night events typically bring a full weekend of fight-week activity, visiting fans, and national broadcast attention to the host city.
Nickal made clear on Friday that he sees the venue change as a step, not a detour. He predicted he would finish Pyfer in Cleveland and then move on to challenge for the belt. An exact February date and ticket information had not been announced as of Friday evening; the promotion is expected to confirm the card’s details in the coming weeks.