Nickal vs Craig

Who won Nickal vs Craig?

Bo Nickal beat Paul Craig by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of UFC 309, on Saturday 16th November 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The scorecards were announced as 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in favor of the winner Bo Nickal.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Nickal vs Craig stats

Bo Nickal stepped into the octagon with an undefeated record of 6 wins, zero losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Paul Craig made his way to the cage with a record of 17 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, 4 of those wins coming by knock out and 13 by submission.

This was Bo Nickal's 5th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2023. Paul Craig marked his 20th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2016.

Bo Nickal's UFC record stood at 4-1-0, while Paul Craig's came in at 9-9-1.

The stats suggested Nickal had a slight advantage in power over Craig, with a 33% knock out percentage over Craig's 24%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Craig had a slight advantage over Nickal, with a 76% submission rate over Nickal's 67%.

Bo Nickal was the younger man by 8 years, at 29 years old.

Craig had a height advantage of 2 inches over Nickal. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Nickal was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 20 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2022, 8 years and 9 months later than Craig, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 35 less professional rounds, 12 to Craig's 47.

Nickal vs Craig form

Paul Craig had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had drawn with Mauricio Rua at UFC on ESPN+ 22 on 16th November 2019 by split draw in their 3 round contest at Ibirapuera Gymnasium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 3 on 29th June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Target Center, Minneapolis, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC on ESPN 2 on 30th March 2019 by submission in the 3rd round at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

He had been beaten by Jimmy Crute at UFC Fight Night 142 on 1st December 2018 by submission in the 3rd round at Adelaide Entertainment Center, Adelaide, South Australia.

Activity check

Nickal's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.3 rounds on average.

Craig's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 7 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What time did Nickal vs Craig start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 4:10 AM UTC , which was 11:10 PM EST or 8:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 4:10 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Nickal vs Craig?

Bo Nickal was a 7/100 (-1400) favourite going into the contest, while Paul Craig made his way into the ring at 8/1 (+800) with oddsmakers.