Bo Nickal has addressed why his fight with Joe Pyfer was pulled from UFC 335. The middleweight bout survived less than two weeks on the card after it was announced.
Bloody Elbow posted on X early Wednesday that Nickal had explained the removal, and linked to its full story. The post doesn’t spell out the reason. I’m not going to fill in that blank with guesswork. Here’s what the post confirms: the fight was booked, the fight was scrapped fast, and the explanation is coming from Nickal himself rather than a vague promotional statement.
On paper this was a big swing for Nickal. In MMA Mania’s UFC Meta Rankings, updated Tuesday after UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, Pyfer sits at No. 5 at 185 pounds. Nickal is No. 13, down one spot this week. Those are composite rankings, not the UFC’s official list, but the gap is real either way. Eight spots is the kind of jump that puts a guy in the top 10 overnight if he wins, or sends him back to the regional-level matchmaking conversation if he doesn’t.
View post on X
Pyfer earned his perch the loud way. He knocked out Israel Adesanya in the second round at UFC Seattle earlier this year, a result that stretched the former two-time champion’s skid to four straight. Adesanya hasn’t won since he knocked out Alex Pereira in their April 2023 rematch.
The top of the division doesn’t leave much room to maneuver. Those same rankings list Sean Strickland as champion, with Khamzat Chimaev, Dricus Du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov and Brendan Allen stacked above Pyfer. Directly behind him are Caio Borralho, Gregory Rodrigues and Anthony Hernandez. Nickal, at 13, is sandwiched between Christian Leroy Duncan and Roman Kopylov.
Pyfer’s last victim, meanwhile, already has his next fight lined up. Adesanya said on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast that he just signed his contract, and MMAmania.com confirmed the UFC wants him against Shara Magomedov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on Dec. 6. Dana White says that card is still on despite the security concerns in the region.
None of the sources point to a confirmed replacement opponent for either Nickal or Pyfer, and nothing indicates whether the matchup gets rebooked for a later date.
My take: credit Nickal for talking about it at all. Too many of these fights vanish from a card with zero explanation and fans are left reading tea leaves on social media. Now the UFC should do the obvious thing and put the fight back together. A No. 5 who just flattened Adesanya against a former wrestling star trying to prove he belongs in that tier sells itself. Book it again, and this time let it stay on a poster longer than a carton of milk stays in the fridge.
