Bo Nickal will take a step up in competition when he locks horns with Paul Craig at UFC 309.
The promotion announced the middleweight booking during the UFC 306 broadcast on Saturday night. UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
One of the most highly-touted prospects in recent memory, Nickal has kicked off his professional tenure with six straight triumphs. The former three-time NCAA national champion from Penn State University is 3-0 in Octagon, including a second-round submission of Cody Brundage in his most recent appearance at UFC 300. That fight marked the first time Nickal has been outside of the first round in his MMA career.
Craig enters the matchup having lost four of his last five fights. He is 1-2 since moving to 185 pounds from light heavyweight and has been finished by Caio Borralho and Brendan Allen in back-to-back outings. The Scotland native owns notable triumphs over the likes of Magomed Ankalaev, Mauricio Rua, Jamahal Hill, Nikita Krylov and Andre Muniz during his UFC tenure.
