Bo Nickal in need of new UFC 290 opponent after Tresean Gore injury withdrawal

Bo Nickal’s status for UFC 290 suddenly is in jeopardy through no fault of his own.

With only five days until Saturday’s pay-per-view event, Nickal’s opponent, Tresean Gore, has withdrawn from their scheduled main-card fight because of a wrist injury. Gore (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) made the announcement Tuesday morning on his Instagram stories. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is working on finding a last-minute replacement for Nickal and hopes to finalize a new bout before today is over.

Nickal (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), 27, made his promotional debut in March at UFC 285, where he defeated Jamie Pickett in the first round with a triangle choke. The win didn’t come without controversy as Pickett and his team initially sought to appeal the result due to a potential low blow that occurred before the finishing sequence. However, the result of the fight was upheld after the appeal fell through.

Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler out of Penn State, has won all four of his professional MMA bouts in the first round. That includes two buzzworthy Dana White’s Contender Series appearances last year, which took place just seven weeks apart.

Gore, who participated in “The Ultimate Fighter 29,” had been set to compete for the first time in 2023. Gore said his wrist injury could require surgery that would keep him out of action for six months to a year.

In his last appearance, Gore picked up his first UFC win by submitting Josh Fremd in the second round with a guillotine choke.

Below is the UFC 290 lineup:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez
• Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Dricus Du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker
• Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner
• Bo Nickal vs. opponent TBA

PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price
• Josiah Harrell vs. Jack Della Maddalena
• Denise Gomes vs. Yazmin Jauregui
• Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Vitor Petrino vs. Marcin Prachnio
• Jesus Aguilar vs. Shannon Ross
• Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics
• Terrence Mitchell vs. Cameron Saaiman
• Edgar Chairez vs. Tatsuro Taira

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.