‘Overrated!’… Bo Nickal showered with boos despite earning the biggest win of his career at UFC 309

Bo Nickal's career-best win at UFC 309 was not well received by the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Bo Nickal defeated veteran Paul Craig for the biggest win of his career at UFC 309. Despite digging deep to defeat Craig over three rounds, Nickal was booed mercilessly by the crowd at Madison Square Garden, with the exception of the US President- elect Donald Trump and a few others.

Nickal walked away with a unanimous decision to remain undefeated in his professional MMA career. The former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler is considered a unique prospect by many MMA analysts.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Nickal took a unique approach away from wrestling against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Craig. Instead of using his elite wrestling, Nickal decided to make it a stand-up fight, but his activity level wasn't to the crowd's liking.

Nickal found repeated success with his straight right as the fight progressed, inflicting significant damage on Craig late. He wobbled Craig quite a bit in the final minutes before slamming on the brakes.

Boo birds reign supreme after Bo Nickal's UFC 309 win

The UFC 309 broadcast team was split on how to approach Nickal vs. Craig had to score due to the handful of slow moments in the fight. But Nickal walked away with the win and enjoyed a brief cageside chat with Trump.

Moments earlier, Nickal was the target of “Overrated” chants from the crowd as he edged closer to victory over Craig.

Nickal is just six fights into his MMA career after transitioning from a decorated collegiate wrestling stint. He earned an invite to Dana White's Contender Series after just one professional fight, a 33-second knockout at Jorge Masvidal's iKON FC 3.

Despite his lack of experience with his striking, Nickal took the unconventional approach at UFC 309. His first approach striking was likely due to the ground threat that Craig possesses.

Bo Nickal's meteoric rise hits a speed bump at UFC 309

Nickal entered UFC 309 undefeated in his professional MMA career with three wins inside the Octagon. He most recently defeated Cody Brundage via second-round submission at UFC 300.

After two quick finishes at DWCS, Nickal made his highly anticipated UFC debut at UFC 285 last year, needing just minutes to knock out Jamie Pickett with an arm-triangle choke.

Nickal has a future matchup with top UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in his sights. But his UFC 309 performance could further delay his quest for the middleweight championship.

Despite his elite skills, Nickal is still relatively inexperienced in MMA, but fans are growing impatient with his sometimes slow style.

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