The UFC middleweight has been booked for another Real American
Freestyle matchup, as the promotion recently announced that Nickal
will face Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov.

Bo Nickal prepares for Real American Freestyle matchup against
2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov

Nickal has booked another RAF appearance shortly after his RAF 12
bout with Max McEnelly, which will take place on Aug. 22. He will
face Muradov in Moscow on Sept. 5, according to an announcement
from RAF on X.

Nickal last competed at
UFC Freedom 250, where he earned a first-round victory over
Kyle
Daukaus to extend his winning streak. Instead of waiting for
his next fight, Nickal is continuing to hone his wrestling
skills.

The 30-year-old made his RAF debut at the promotion’s inaugural
event in August 2025, defeating Jacob Cardenas on points. This new
challenge could be a difficult one for Nickal. Muradov previously
won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Games in
Beijing in the 96kg (212 pounds) category. He also has far more
experience than the American collegiate wrestling standout.

RAF Moscow streams live on Fox Nation on Sept. 5.

Verhoeven recently asked for Rogan's suggestion about competing
inside the Octagon during an appearance on the UFC commentator's
podcast.

Joe Rogan says boxing makes the ‘most sense' as next career
move for Rico Verhoeven

The former Glory Kickboxing champion noted that Conor
McGregor had reportedly earned a massive payday for his return
fight last month, which lasted 69 seconds. However, Rogan advised
the 37-year-old against signing with the UFC at this point in his
career.

Rogan believes Verhoeven can earn more money in boxing. He also
claimed that Verhoeven's friend and training partner Tom
Aspinall could have a career in boxing in the future and that
the Brit will benefit from working with Eddie Hearn.

“For you, boxing makes the most sense, especially at this point in
your life, financially,†Rogan told Verhoeven. “For Tom, he has a
potential career in boxing as well. And now that Eddie Hearn is
managing him, which is very exciting because Matchroom being behind
him is gonna have a gigantic hype machine, gigantic promotion. They
are at odds with the UFC. For me, I care about the fighters making
the most money possible, and that's how [Tom] is gonna make the
most money possible.â€

Verhoeven vacated his Glory heavyweight title last year after
defending it against Artem
Vakhitov, the last man to beat Alex
Pereira in kickboxing. The Dutchman then challenged former
champ Oleksandr Usyk this past May. While Verhoeven was a massive
underdog, he led the dance for the most part before slowing down in
the later rounds.

Seemingly en route to a potentially monumental upset win, he was
knocked down late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to
his feet, Usyk followed up and the referee bizarrely stopped the
fight with a second left in the stanza.

McMillen is currently one of the most hyped featherweight prospects
on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster. The undefeated
28-year-old is high in confidence, as reflected in his recent
comments about the reigning champion in his division.

Tommy McMillen says Alexander Volkanovski has no path to
victory

McMillen is open to fighting Volkanovski next for the right amount
of money. “Gun†doesn't think the 37-year-old UFC featherweight
champion can beat him and the same goes for any other
145-pounder.

“I'll take Volk. He's like 42 years old, he's 5'5â€, what's his path
to victory?†McMillen said on the One Night with Steiny podcast.
“He's gonna bang with me for five rounds? I've never even seen a
fourth or fifth round; those are gonna be my best rounds. If the
UFC came to me and paid the right amount of money, yes, I'll go
step in there and fight anybody in the top 15, knowing I can win.
There's not a man at 145 pounds that I don't look at and be like,
‘Oh, I know I can beat him.'â€

McMillen (11-0) has earned $100k bonuses for both of his UFC wins
so far. He also set the record for landing the most significant
strikes in a three-round UFC fight (513) in his recent win over
Alberto
Montes. His contract-winning performance on
Dana White's Contender Series remains his only bout that has
gone the distance.

Meanwhile, Volkanovski (28-4) defended the featherweight title five
times in his first title run before losing it to Ilia
Topuria in 2024. “The Great†has since won the vacant title and
defended it against Diego
Lopes. While there's no official confirmation as yet, the
Australian has indicated that unbeaten contender Movsar
Evloev is next in line for the belt.