Bo Nickal meets Yoel Romero in wrestling match at RAF 4

Bo Nickal and Yoel Romero are two of the most credentialed wrestlers to ever compete in MMA and now they’re going back to their roots with a matchup booked at Real American Freestyle 4 in December.

During the RAF 3 event on Saturday from Chicago, Izzy Martinez announced that Nickal would defend his light heavyweight championship against the Olympic silver medalist on Dec. 20 from the Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Ind.

Nickal, who just recently scored a brutal knockout at UFC 322, is making his return to wrestling after he appeared at the first RAF event back in August when he scored a win over Jacob Cardenas to win the inaugural light heavyweight title.

Of course during his wrestling career, Nickal was a three-time NCAA National Champion at Penn State but after coming up short to make the 2020 Olympic team, he made his transition to MMA. He now holds an 8-1 record including a 5-1 resume in the UFC.

As for Romero, the 48-year-old former UFC middleweight title challenger seems ageless as he continues to defy the odds while still actively competing in BKFC and Dirty Boxing. Now he goes back to wrestling after he won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics while also winning a World Championship in 1999.

Romero is also one of the few people to defeat Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson during his history making career. Sanderson went onto become the head coach at Penn State — where he coached Nickal to his three NCAA titles.

Nickal and Romero meet in a matchup at RAF 4, which is headlined by a heavyweight title bout between recent NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson against 2024 Olympican Mason Parris. Former UFC champion Belal Muhammad is also slated to appear on the card against David Carr.