TLDR
- Bo Nickal vs. Joe Pyfer will not take place at UFC 335 on December 12 as originally planned
- The fight has been moved to February 2027 in Cleveland, where it will headline the event
- Nickal announced the change during a political rally in Ohio on October 15
- The fight will now be five rounds instead of three as a main event bout
- This marks UFC’s first return to Cleveland since September 2016
Sources: yardbarker.com | si.com | mmamania.com
Bo Nickal announced that his scheduled fight against Joe Pyfer will not happen at UFC 335 on December 12. The middleweight bout has been postponed to February 2027, where it will headline a UFC event in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nickal made the announcement on October 15 while appearing at a political rally for Vivek Ramaswamy at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He told the crowd he received a call from the UFC backstage informing him of the change.
“I got a call backstage, and I do have some news, which is pretty exciting,” Nickal said. “My boy right here mentioned my fight in December. It actually got moved to February, where I’m going to be main eventing in Cleveland.”
The UFC has not officially announced the move or provided a reason for the change. Neither Nickal nor Pyfer have publicly explained why the fight was postponed.
Bo Nickal Vs Joey Pyfer is off of #UFC335
They will now headline a UFC Cleveland event in February
Bo Nickal announced today pic.twitter.com/dp9Jo6FA9z
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) October 16, 2026
From Three Rounds to Five
The original plan had Nickal and Pyfer fighting on the UFC 335 main card in a standard three-round bout. Now that the fight will headline an event, it becomes a five-round main event lasting 25 minutes instead of 15.
This marks UFC’s first visit to Cleveland since September 10, 2016. That event, UFC 203, featured heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defending his title against Alistair Overeem with a first-round knockout.
Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, currently holds a 6-1 UFC record. His most recent fight was a knockout victory over Kyle Daukaus at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in June 2026.
Pyfer is on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. His last fight was a second-round knockout of former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in March 2026 at UFC Seattle.
Pyfer Responds to Nickal
After Nickal’s announcement, Pyfer posted a response on Instagram. He wrote, “Bro talking about gonna go smash this dude. I will take your fake dreams away. Poor kid vs rich kid.”
The two fighters have traded verbal shots at each other for months. Earlier in 2025, Pyfer called Nickal “fraud checked” after Nickal’s TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder.
This type of fight postponement is not new for the UFC. In 2021, the promotion moved Sean Strickland’s fight with Uriah Hall from UFC 265 to an earlier Fight Night main event without explanation.
UFC 335 still features Charles Oliveira versus Diego Lopes for the BMF championship as the main event. The co-main event has Alex Pereira facing Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight bout.
Other fights on the card include Brandon Moreno versus Charles Johnson and Maycee Barber versus Carli Judice. The UFC has not announced what fight, if any, will replace Nickal versus Pyfer on the December card.
The exact date and venue for the Cleveland event in February have not been announced. By the time the fight takes place, Pyfer will have been out of action for nearly a year since his win over Adesanya.
