Highly touted middleweight prospect Bo Nickal has booked his first fight since suffering a loss to Reinier de Ridder earlier this year when he returns to action at UFC 322 in New York on Nov. 15.
The three-time NCAA champion wrestler is set to face off with Rodolfo Vieira in a matchup between two top grapplers. Vieira is a multi-time grappling champion including a gold medal win at the famed ADCC tournament when he claimed that title back in 2015.
Vieira is 3-1 in his past four outings with the UFC and he’ll look to add to his record when he clashes with Nickal in November.
As for Nickal, he came storming into the UFC as one of the hottest signings after only three professional fights. He rattled off four straight wins to start his UFC career but then suffered the knockout loss to de Ridder back in May.
Also on the card, Roman Kopylov returns to action against Gregory Rodrigues in a battle of middleweights.
Dana White’s Contender Series favorite Baisangur Susurkaev also has a new fight booked as he takes on Eric McConico in a middleweight fight on the card. Susurkaev scored a win on the Contender Series to earn his UFC contract and then made his debut just a few days later when he submitted Eric Nolan at UFC 319 in Chicago.
UFC 322 is set to be headlined by a pair of title fights as Jack Della Maddalena puts his welterweight belt up for grabs against former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who moves up to 170 pounds. Also on the card, Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight title against Zhang Weili, who surrendered her strawweight belt to take a stab at winning gold at 125 pounds.
Here’s the full lineup of fights confirmed for UFC 322 so far:
MAIN EVENT: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev
CO-MAIN EVENT: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili
Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates
Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez
Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico
