Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero Set For RAF 16

Bo Nickal and Yoel Romero are booked to compete for the third time, with RAF announcing Tuesday that the wrestling crossover bout lands at RAF 16 on Dec. 19 in Long Island, New York.

The matchup between the two decorated grapplers has collapsed twice before. Nickal pulled out of their originally scheduled RAF 4 meeting last December for reasons not disclosed. When RAF rebooked them for the co-main event at RAF 5 in January, Romero failed to make weight and the bout fell apart again.

Nickal's UFC Run Meets Romero's Combat Sports Tour

The 30-year-old Nickal holds a top-15 spot in the UFC middleweight division after transitioning to MMA in 2021 from a Penn State wrestling career that produced three NCAA Division I national titles. He earned his most recent RAF win in September, taking a decision over 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Gadzhikurbanovich Muradov, per MMA Fighting.

Romero last fought MMA in 2024, stopping Thiago Santos at a PFL versus Bellator event. The 49-year-old has since competed in bare-knuckle boxing and freestyle wrestling, dropping a bare-knuckle decision to Darren Till in September and losing by tech fall to Stephen Buchanan in his last RAF appearance.

During his UFC tenure, Romero challenged for the middleweight title twice, going the distance in losses to both Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. The bout is set as a catchweight affair.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero rescheduled for RAF 16