Yoel Romero and Bo Nickal’s wrestling bout tomorrow night is not so much a dream match as one that many felt would never be possible.
The middleweight MMA duo are two renowned wrestlers, and they get to put their skills to the test on tomorrow night’s RAF05 event in Sunrise, Florida. Romero is an Olympic silver medalist, while Nickal is a legendary NCAA champion from Penn State.
Both men went on from their wrestling careers to great success in the MMA cage. Romero fought multiple times for UFC and Bellator gold, while Nickal is currently building back from his first defeat as he pursues gold of his own inside the octagon.
LEGENDS: Anderson Silva called out for boxing clash by former UFC middleweight starBo Nickal and Yoel Romero’s massive 19-year age gap on display in first face-offAfter their initially planned bout for RAF04 was cancelled due to a Bo Nickal injury, he and Yoel Romero were able to finally face off at tonight’s pre-show press conference. They embraced and seemed friendly, before facing off at a distance.
The American instead stole headlines for his verbal battles with Colby Covington and Luke Rockhold during the press conference. But he must focus on facing RAF champion Romero tomorrow night in a fascinating matchup.
To put the pair’s age difference in perspective; Romero picked up a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic games, when Nickal was just four years old. When the American made his amateur MMA debut, his opponent had already been through the UFC and had fought for three iterations of the world title.
Romero is taking this match while also in camp for a BKFC fight with Lorenzo Hunt in less than a month’s time. Nickal’s last UFC outing was a stunning KO at UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden back in November.
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