Bo Nickal goes back on claims of Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314, jokes about being "new fight announcer"
UFC middleweight star Bo Nickal retracted his claim that Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski II is happening at UFC 314. With Dana White passionately against sources leaking fight announcements before his official word, Nickal may have been given the good old slap in the wrist by the UFC brass.
Nickal made the announcement during a recently aired podcast episode with his friends. The American wrestling standout mentioned that UFC 314 would take place in Miami but has no confirmed fights linked to it yet.
Nickal wasn't too happy with the Topuria-Volk II booking and suggested a better match-up. He also said he's working to get himself on the fight card. Even when his co-hosts noted that the main event title fight he just announced isn't official yet, Nickal reiterated that he knows it's happening.
Hours after the clip of him saying this went viral, Nickal jokingly retracted his statement:
"Glad to be named the new official fight announcer for the UFC! (Fight isn’t official guys)"
What exactly did Bo Nickal say before his retraction?
Diving deeper into what Bo Nickal said about the main event of UFC 314, he announced it partly because he wasn't happy about Volkanovski's chances at beating Topuria in a rematch.
Early last year, 'El Matador' absolutely starched 'The Great' to win the UFC featherweight title. He then defended the belt months later by doing the same thing to former titleholder and current BMF champion Max Holloway. Volkanovski hasn't fought since dropping the belt to the Georgian-Spanish champion.
Nickal then suggested a better fight: Topuria moving up to lightweight to challenge the champion, Islam Makhachev, in a champion vs. champion fight.
He said:
"They just announced Ilia [Topuria] and Volk [Volkanovski]. April, [UFC] 314, I think? Ilia and Islam [Makhachev] would be sick. I don't know about an Ilia and Volk rematch. I mean I get it. Volk had to rematch Holloway a bunch of times. I love Volk. He's great. [But] I don't see a path to victory for him."
He added:
"No, it's official. I know for a fact. I don't know if it's announced, for a fact. But I know it's happening for a fact. Inside sources. I'm annoucing it... I might fight on that card. That's a card I'm trying to fight on."