Overview
- The middleweight bout is set for Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden, serving as the featured preliminary fight before the pay-per-view portion of UFC 322.
- After a May TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder, Nickal (7-1) said he is grateful for the setback and described making significant mental adjustments in training.
- Rodolfo Vieira (11-3), a decorated jiu-jitsu champion, said he prepared for a full MMA contest and does not view the matchup strictly as wrestling versus BJJ.
- Sportsbooks list Nickal as the favorite, with widely reported lines opening around -160 to -180 and at times moving near -205 to -220, while Vieira has ranged roughly +140 to +185.
- The UFC recently repositioned the pairing from the main card to the featured prelims, a shift Nickal acknowledged after earlier comments about always being a main-card fighter.