Jamie Pickett “Did Not Know Who” Bo Nickal Was Before Fight Booking

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Jamie Pickett may be facing one of MMA’s hottest prospects at UFC 285, but he claims to have had no idea who Bo Nickal was before the two middleweights were scheduled to fight.
“The Night Wolf” was originally slated to meet Nickal at UFC 282, but an injury resulted in the bout being rescheduled for UFC 285. The middleweights are set to kick off the event’s main card, which is a testament to the significant hype around Nickal that’s developed after only three professional MMA bouts.
Pickett is in a very different position from the 3-0 fighter, as he’s currently on a two-fight skid where he was finished by Kyle Daukaus and Denis Tiuliulin. The 34-year-old made his own pro debut back in 2011 and joined the UFC in 2020, but a third-straight loss could potentially end his run in the promotion.
Pickett Admits He Didn’t Know Who Nickal Was
If “The Night Wolf” is feeling any pressure ahead of his matchup with Nickal, he certainly hasn’t shown any indication of it during fight week.
Pickett appeared largely relaxed at the UFC 285 media day, and when he was asked about all of the attention around Nickal the 34-year-old admitted he accepted the fight without knowing anything about his opponent’s wrestling pedigree.
Nickal’s wrestling background has made him one of the hottest prospects in MMA. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I didn’t understand who I was signing up to fight,” Pickett said. “I was just like – my manager was pushing it, everybody was pushing it. And I was like ‘All right man, I’ll do it.’ They said more money, I was like ‘All right, I’ll do it.’ I didn’t really realize who I was fighting, I’m not lying. I swear I did not know who he was. Everybody else knew who he was except for me, because I’m not really big into the wrestling like that. So I don’t watch wrestling, or anything. So they told me who he was, I told my coach – my coach was like ‘Okay, so we need to do this, this and that.’ I’m like ‘What’s the sense of urgency, what’s going on?’ So I started asking questions, I found out who he was.”
Nickal won two amateur fights via stoppage in 2021 before turning pro the following year. A first-round knockout in his debut was enough for the UFC to book the 27-year-old on Contender Series, where Nickal fought twice before his promotional debut was scheduled.
The two middleweights will open a loaded UFC 285 main card that is topped by a pair of fantastic title fights. Valentina Shevchenko will put her women’s flyweight title on the line against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event, and in the main event Jon Jones will make his long-awaited heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane in a bout for the UFC’s heavyweight title.
What’s your reaction to the fact that Pickett claims to have not known who Bo Nickal was before signing on to fight him?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.

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Jamie Pickett may be facing one of MMA’s hottest prospects at UFC 285, but he claims to have had no idea who Bo Nickal was before the two middleweights were scheduled to fight.


“The Night Wolf” was originally slated to meet Nickal at UFC 282, but an injury resulted in the bout being rescheduled for UFC 285. The middleweights are set to kick off the event’s main card, which is a testament to the significant hype around Nickal that’s developed after only three professional MMA bouts.


Pickett is in a very different position from the 3-0 fighter, as he’s currently on a two-fight skid where he was finished by Kyle Daukaus and Denis Tiuliulin. The 34-year-old made his own pro debut back in 2011 and joined the UFC in 2020, but a third-straight loss could potentially end his run in the promotion.


Pickett Admits He Didn’t Know Who Nickal Was
If “The Night Wolf” is feeling any pressure ahead of his matchup with Nickal, he certainly hasn’t shown any indication of it during fight week.


Pickett appeared largely relaxed at the UFC 285 media day, and when he was asked about all of the attention around Nickal the 34-year-old admitted he accepted the fight without knowing anything about his opponent’s wrestling pedigree.


gettyimages-1413918888-594x594-2-1024x576.jpg.optimal.jpg
Nickal’s wrestling background has made him one of the hottest prospects in MMA. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I didn’t understand who I was signing up to fight,” Pickett said. “I was just like – my manager was pushing it, everybody was pushing it. And I was like ‘All right man, I’ll do it.’ They said more money, I was like ‘All right, I’ll do it.’ I didn’t really realize who I was fighting, I’m not lying. I swear I did not know who he was. Everybody else knew who he was except for me, because I’m not really big into the wrestling like that. So I don’t watch wrestling, or anything. So they told me who he was, I told my coach – my coach was like ‘Okay, so we need to do this, this and that.’ I’m like ‘What’s the sense of urgency, what’s going on?’ So I started asking questions, I found out who he was.”


Nickal won two amateur fights via stoppage in 2021 before turning pro the following year. A first-round knockout in his debut was enough for the UFC to book the 27-year-old on Contender Series, where Nickal fought twice before his promotional debut was scheduled.


The two middleweights will open a loaded UFC 285 main card that is topped by a pair of fantastic title fights. Valentina Shevchenko will put her women’s flyweight title on the line against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event, and in the main event Jon Jones will make his long-awaited heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane in a bout for the UFC’s heavyweight title.


What’s your reaction to the fact that Pickett claims to have not known who Bo Nickal was before signing on to fight him?


Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.










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