"He said 'done deal'" - UFC star who lost in May claims he has a UFC White House fight after Donald Trump's confirmation

Bo Nickal recently spoke about potentially competing on the UFC White House card next year. Nickal notably suffered his first MMA career loss against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines in May. Nickal now has a professional record of 7-1, with six of his wins coming via a finish.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Nickal revealed that he spoke to Donald Trump about his next outing and claimed that the POTUS wants him fighting on the UFC White House card. He said:

"I’m planning on being on that card. That’s history. That’s exciting. That’s something I feel like I would be ecstatic and grateful to be a part of. I’ve got to take care of business. I’ve talked with President Trump; he wants me on the card. I’m sure that if things line up, we’ll make it happen."

He continued:

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"I was on Fox promoting the RAF [Real American Freestyle] event. He obviously watches that. I was on Fox and Friends. He called me up and sent me some encouragement. We talked about the card for a second. I told him that I want to get on it, and he said, ‘Done deal.’ Him and Dana [White] are obviously very close. If he puts a good word on my behalf, then it’s probably putting me in a good position."

After losing to de Ridder via second-round TKO earlier this year, Nickal is now scheduled to fight Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322 in November. The event will be headlined by a Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev welterweight title fight.

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Bo Nickal gets 100% real about competing on UFC 322 prelims next

Bo Nickal could be fighting Rodolfo Vieira on the prelims of the UFC 322 card next month. This would mark the American's first outing outside the main card.

Nickal once notably said that he would retire from the sport if the promotion put him on the prelims, citing his skills and stardom as the reason why he should always be booked on the main card. Given that the UFC 322 card is stacked with a host of high-profile matchups, it's possible that Nickal's fight could take place on the prelims.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani (via @uncrownedcombat on X), Nickal admitted that his previous comments were arrogant in nature and said:

"I remember the specific instance when you asked me if I was going to be on the prelims, and I scoffed at it. I was definitely arrogant, but there was a little bit of truth to that in my position, but at the same time, it was arrogant. So, now I don’t really care where I fight. If UFC wants to put me first on the fight card, then I’m happy to do it. It’s definitely part of this humbling."

Edited by Nishant Zende.