Bo Nickal not interested in Yoel Romero match after massive weight miss at RAF 5, eyes ‘fake wrestlers’ next
Bo Nickal isn’t interested in rebooking his match against Yoel Romero after the Olympic silver medalist missed weight for their light heavyweight bout at RAF 5 on Saturday.
Originally scheduled as one of the most anticipated bouts on the card, the match was scrapped after Nickal revealed that Romero came in well over the 205-pound limit for their match. Nickal bowed out and instead Romero moved onto a new match against Stephen Buchanan, the 2025 NCAA champion from Iowa.
“For me, wrestling is about competing but part of that’s making weight and when you show up seven pounds over, that’s disrespectful to the sport,” Nickal said about Romero, who hit the scale at 212 pounds. “Unfortunately a lot of people booing, sounds like a lot of MMA fans that don’t know what goes into wrestling.
“I’m sure every wrestler in here that’s made weight understands what it takes to do that and that’s what it takes to compete. I showed up ready to go and unfortunately, my opponent didn’t.”
The match has now been scheduled and cancelled twice with Nickal falling out of the original showdown at RAF 4 but the rebooking was made for RAF 5 instead. Unfortunately, Romero badly missed weight and Nickal just doesn’t sound all that enthusiastic on making a third attempt at that match unless the Cuban can get down to 205 pounds.
“To be honest, I think he’s a heavyweight,” Nickal said about Romero. “He’s coming down from 230-plus pounds. He obviously couldn’t make 205. I weigh 205 naturally, I fight at 185 in the UFC. Unless he can get down to the weight, I don’t really care. But I definitely have a lot of other guys that I have my eye on.”
With Romero off his radar, Nickal wasted no time turning his attention to the headliners from RAF 5 where Colby Covington faces off with former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
While Covington has legitimate wrestling credentials as a former All-American from Oregon State, Rockhold is obviously best known for his fight career where he held titles in both the UFC and Strikeforce.
Still, those two earning a headlining spot over a pair of Olympic medalists like Kyle Dake and Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov doesn’t sit well with Nickal.
“I mean there’s a couple fake wrestlers in the main event,” Nickal said. “Either one of those guys. I think they’re disrespectful to the sport. It’s a travesty that they’re there. We’ve got guys like Kadi Magomedov and [Kyle] Dake, who are legit, world class competitors who deserve that spot and these guys cry if they’re not main event.
“Either one of those dudes, I’d love to tear them limb from limb and send them packing.”
