NEW YORK CITY — UFC middleweight Bo Nickal’s latest performance at UFC 309 stirred up quite the reaction from the Madison Square Garden crowd, although perhaps not in the way he had hoped.
The undefeated wrestling sensation extended his professional MMA record to 7-0 with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over seasoned veteran Paul Craig in the main event of Saturday’s highly anticipated pay-per-view. While Nickal secured the judges’ favor on all scorecards, the fight proved to be a closer affair than the final tallies suggested. Notably, the 28-year-old failed to secure a takedown or knockdown for the first time in his career, landing a total of 54 strikes over the course of the bout—merely seven more than his opponent, Craig.
In the aftermath of his triumph, Nickal took to the media scrum backstage at Madison Square Garden to reflect on his performance, address the crowd’s resounding boos and chants of “overrated,” discuss his aspirations for the year 2025, reminisce about his mother’s amateur boxing endeavors, and much more.
For a comprehensive look at the full media session, be sure to watch the video featured above.