TLDR
- Bo Nickal expressed interest in fighting Colby Covington at the UFC White House card on June 14
- Dana White confirmed the White House card is complete with Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje reported as the main event
- Amanda Nunes wants to fight Kayla Harrison for the women’s bantamweight title at the White House event
- Multiple American fighters including Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Alex Pereira are seeking spots on the card
- Nickal recently offered advice to Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson about handling hype in his MMA transition
Sources: Sportbible | MMA Fighting | MMA Fighting
UFC welterweight Bo Nickal has expressed interest in fighting fellow American Colby Covington at the UFC’s historic White House card on June 14. The event will celebrate America’s 250th founding and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
UFC President Dana White confirmed last week that the White House card is complete. He told reporters at the Zuffa Boxing 3 post-fight press conference that the matchmaking process is already laid out with two different options.
Spanish journalist Alvaro Colmenero reports that Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje will serve as the main event. Gaethje won the interim UFC lightweight title by beating Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 last month.
Multiple Title Fights Possible
A second title fight could join the card after former champion Amanda Nunes made her intentions clear. Nunes wants to fight UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison at the White House.
The Harrison vs. Nunes fight was originally scheduled to co-headline UFC 324. Harrison had to withdraw due to a neck injury.
“I think she has six months to recover and give some feedback to the UFC,” Nunes told UFC Brasil. “I saw that she’s already back at the gym and that makes me really happy.”
Nunes said everything depends on Harrison’s recovery for the fight to happen at the White House. She called it a perfect location for their championship contest.
American Fighters Want White House Spotlight
Several American fighters are hoping to compete on the South Lawn. The list includes Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, and UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Covington has set his sights on Pimblett for the card. Michael Chandler is still pursuing a fight with McGregor.
Nickal wants to face Covington instead. Max Holloway, who holds the BMF title, could also be in contention as one of the promotion’s American champions.
While pursuing a spot on the White House card, Nickal recently offered advice to Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Steveson is transitioning to MMA and has his third professional fight scheduled for Thursday at MFL 3 in Mexico.
Nickal knows about dealing with high expectations. He had only one fight before competing on Dana White’s Contender Series and joined the UFC roster after just two more wins.
“I would say the career stuff and everything, it’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to,” Nickal told MMA Fighting. “Just continue to focus on getting better at fighting, getting better at your sport.”
Nickal suffered a knockout loss to Reinier de Ridder last May. He bounced back with a head kick knockout over Rodolfo Vieira in his most recent fight.
He warned Steveson about the dangers of hype and outside pressure. Nickal said fighters can go from being praised as future champions to being called overrated very quickly.
“If you win or lose a fight, you’re still Gable Steveson,” Nickal said. “So try to be yourself and try to improve.”
Nickal admitted he was caught off guard by how quickly people wanted to crown him champion early in his UFC career. He said the reality is probably somewhere between people who think he’s terrible and those who thought he could win the title immediately.
Nickal emphasized that he’s focused on the process rather than results. He said that approach has carried him through wins, losses, tough training days, and easy training days.
The UFC has not officially announced the full fight card for the White House event. White said the options are laid out and the event is set for June 14.
