Bo Nickal meets Yoel Romero in a highly anticipated matchup of two of the best wrestlers to ever compete in MMA.
RAF announced Tuesday that Nickal is set to take on Romero at RAF 16, which takes place Dec. 19 in Long Island, N.Y.
See the announcement below.
This is the third time RAF matchmakers have booked Nickal vs. Romero. The two were first set to compete at RAF 4 this past December, but Nickal withdrew from that event for undisclosed reasons. Rescheduled for RAF 5 in January, the co-main event matchup
again fell through due to Romero missing weight.
Now, fans can again hope to see Nickal and Romero face off, this time in a catchweight crossover bout.
Nickal is currently a top 15 contender in the UFC’s middleweight division. The 30-year-old made the transition to MMA in 2021 following a storied collegiate wrestling career at Penn State in which he won a trio of NCAA Division I national championships. He was successful in his most recent outing for RAF, earning a decision win over 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Gadzhikurbanovich Muradov this past September.
Romero, 49, has seen mixed results since last competing in MMA in 2024. After defeating fellow UFC veteran Thiago Santos at a PFL vs. Bellator event, “Soldier of God” has fought under a variety of combat sports rule sets, including bare-knuckle boxing and freestyle wrestling. His most recent bare-knuckle appearance in September saw him lose to Darren Till, while his most recent RAF appearance also ended in defeat as he lost via tech fall to Stephen Buchanan.
During his time with the UFC, Romero was a perennial middleweight title contender who went the distance in losing efforts against champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
