UFC 322 fighter reacts to being elevated to main card after Bo Nickal fan outrage

A UFC 322 fighter has responded to being bumped up to the main card after criticism of Bo Nickal’s initial placement.

Nickal’s fight against Rodolfo Vieira was originally slated for the main card of UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 15. Many fans scoffed at Nickal getting another main card slot on a stacked card following his TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder.

Ultimately, UFC decided to make Nickal vs. Vieira the featured preliminary bout. Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint-Denis has been elevated to the main card. Dariush reacted to the change during an interview with Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie (via Bloody Elbow).

“I didn’t realize this was such a big thing,” Dariush said. “As far as the UFC goes, putting me there, I am obviously grateful and I (see) that they recognize me, so that is great. (But) when they put him (Nickal) up there, I had no gripes about it. It’s not a big deal for me,” he continued. “I know some fighters get bothered by that, but it doesn’t change how much I get paid.

“The fans were bothered by it. So I’ve gotta just say thank you to the fans.”

Nickal has been looked at under a microscope within the MMA community. He entered UFC with a ton of buzz, but many were critical of his unanimous decision victory over Paul Craig the last time he fought inside Madison Square Garden. He followed that up with the aforementioned loss to de Ridder, and many felt it exposed that Nickal isn’t ready for the top of the heap at 185 pounds.

Now that he’s experienced his first pro MMA loss, Nickal will hope to show that he can rebound and become the fighter he thinks he can be. It starts with UFC 322 against Vieira, and he will enter as a modest betting favorite.