UFC Cancels Bo Nickal’s Debut

Easy come, easy go.

After capturing two first-round victories (and two first-round finishes) on Dana White’s “Contender Series” earlier this year, the promotion promptly booked collegiate wrestling standout Bo Nickal to make his Octagon debut at the UFC 282 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

That fight has now been canceled.

According to a report from MMA Junkie, Nickal suffered an injury in training camp and was hastily pulled from the lineup. The promotion plans to rebook the former Nittany Lion for the UFC 285 card, tentatively scheduled for next March in London, England. It is not yet known if Nickal will remain paired with middleweight veteran Jamie Pickett.

The nature and severity of the injury has not been disclosed.

UFC 282 will be headlined by the light heavyweight title fight (and five-round rematch) between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira. Elsewhere on the card, former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler returns against Santiago Ponzinibbio, while Alexander Gustafsson and Ovince Saint Preux hook ‘em up at 205 pounds.