Top Prospect Bo Nickal Gets Sept. 27 Return on Dana White’s Contender Series

Mega prospect Bo Nickal will make his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series against Donovan Beard on Sept. 27.

The bout was announced during the UFC on ESPN 41 broadcast on Saturday night. Nickal vs. Beard will take place on the season finale of the Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Nickal impressed with a 62-second submission of Fury FC veteran Zachary Borrego on Aug. 9. While most observers believed that was enough to earn the middleweight a contract, UFC president Dana White elected to have Nickal get more experience on the Contender Series.

“I don’t know what else he could have done to look any better. He looked incredible. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is because he’s 2-0 now,” White said after the fight. “We got eight more weeks of this. Why not have him fight here again, you know what I mean? It just makes sense.”

Beard, 32, has compiled a 7-1 mark over the course of a professional career that began in 2020. He captured Cage Fury Fighting Championships gold with a fourth-round submission of Miles Lee in his most recent outing at CFFC 111 on July 29.