Bo Nickal made a bold claim about the quality of the UFC’s upcoming White House card. Fans heavily criticized the card, but Nickal feels it is a strong representation of the promotion’s biggest stars.
UFC Freedom 250 takes place at the White House on June. 14, and celebrates America’s 250th anniversary. Before the fight card announcement, there was speculation surrounding the number of title fights that could be featured.
At UFC 326 last Saturday, the promotion answered those questions by unveiling the full card. Six fights were announced, including a lightweight title unification bout and an interim heavyweight title bout. That drew plenty of criticism from fans, as they felt the card did not live up to the hype.
Nickal, meanwhile, feels differently. He faces Kyle Daukaus in a middleweight bout at the event. While he admitted Daukaus wasn’t his preferred opponent, he believes the card is one of the strongest to date.
“It’s one of the best cards ever,” Nickal said during his appearance on Pound 4 Pound. “If you rate this card against all the other cards, four of the top draws [are on it]: [Justin] Gaethje, [Ilia] Topuria, [Alex] Pereira, [Sean] O’Malley. Banger fights up and down.”
Henry Cejudo Questions Bo Nickal’s Remarks About UFC White House Card
Henry Cejudo did not agree with Bo Nickal’s bold claim about the quality of the UFC Freedom 250 card.
Cejudo, a co-host for Pound 4 Pound, questioned the middleweight and clapped back, saying the card could have been much stronger. He believes the UFC‘s event at the White House is still missing significant star power.
‘Triple C’ pointed out that the sport’s biggest stars were available and interested. However, the promotion decided to go in another direction.
“I’m gonna cut you off, Bo. You’re a good employee,” Cejudo said. “No Jones, no [Conor] McGregor, no Islam [Makhachev], no Kamaru [Usman]. It’s a good card, but it’s not what the hype was meant out to be.”
If the card featured Jon Jones and Conor McGregor, perhaps Cejudo would have agreed with Nickal’s claim.
Nickal Builds Ideal UFC Freedom 250 Card
Nickal agreed with Cejudo’s assessment and built his ideal UFC Freedom 250 card. He acknowledged ‘Triple C’s argument about the lack of star power and took that into account when putting together hypothetical matchups.
Nickal began with his own fight. He said former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington would have been his ideal opponent.
The former NCAA Division I national champion then shifted to the headliners. He said Jones vs. Alex Pereira would have been a better option, as well as McGregor being featured in a prominent spot.
“Even with my fight, I think that if I could build the perfect card, I would have done Jones vs. Pereira, maybe McGregor vs. [Michael] Chandler, Islam against Kamaru, me vs. Colby, [Sean] O’Malley vs. Cory Sandhagen,” Nickal told Pound 4 Pound. “That’s an unbelievable card.”
Cejudo responded by agreeing with Nickal’s improved card. He joked that he needed to work hard to get that honesty out of the former Dan Hodge Trophy winner.
“You see how we get the truth, Bo? You gotta dig a little bit.”
Bo Nickal Makes Bold Claim About UFC White House Card