One fight wasn’t enough for this UFC White House star. Now, he’s set to compete again. This time, however, his return won’t come inside the Octagon. Instead, Bo Nickal is heading back to the wrestling mat. The 30-year-old is coming off a first-round knockout victory over Kyle Daukaus at UFC Freedom 250. Now, a different challenge awaits him.

“Bo Nickal takes on Max McEnelly August 22 in Cleveland at RAF12,” Real American Wrestling announced on X on Monday. 

The pair will headline a card at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. And believe it or not, there’s quite the backstory to Nickal’s participation in the event. Nickal was on the card when the promotion kicked off its first-ever event in August last year. He defeated four-time NCAA Division I Qualifier Jacob Cardenas and became the promotion’s inaugural light heavyweight champion. 

He was then set to defend his title against former UFC star Yoel Romero at RAF 04, but had to pull out of the fight. Yet the promotion really wanted this fight to happen, so they booked it again for RAF 05. As it turns out, this time Romero missed weight and Nickal became the undisputed champion. Now, whether by chance or as a planned thing, Nickal is returning for the first anniversary of the promotion. 

While that’s all well and good, Nickal’s opponent, Max McEnelly, is no easy hurdle to jump over. 

Who else is on the RAF 12 card? 

There’s no doubt that Nickal himself has accolades to back his championship claim. However, McEnelly isn’t far behind. A four-time state champion in his Minnesota high school, McEnelly eventually became an NCAA champion at 184 pounds in his sophomore campaign. If he can secure a win over someone like Nickal, it could be a signal to the UFC itself for a contract. 

Similarly, if Nickal wins, he could face the promotion’s current light heavyweight champion, Kyle Snyder, who is also an NCAA wrestling champion and Olympic gold medalist. Nickal was stripped of the belt when the promotion changed the weight class limit from 205 lbs to 215 lbs. 

The UFC allows its fighters to compete in the RAF since the latter is not their direct competitor. And it also allows the fighters to stay active, improve wrestling, and make additional money without breaking the exclusivity part of their contract. As for who else is fighting on the card, no other bouts have been revealed. 

With that said, Bo Nickal will have to move carefully. Although a loss won’t affect his UFC record, it’s not a good look for a fighter bouncing off his first career loss at the hands of Reinier de Ridder in May last year.