Bo Nickal Beats Olympic Champion Shirvani Muradov at RAF Moscow
Bo Nickal bounced back on the wrestling mat Saturday, beating 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov by an 11-8 decision at RAF Moscow. The No. 13 ranked UFC middleweight won the 205-pound match at Mytishchi Arena in Moscow Oblast, Russia.
The result came on Real American Freestyle’s first card in Russia. Nickal was announced as the winner on stage after a close, physical match that stayed in the wrestlers’ scramble for long stretches.
Muradov, 41, won Olympic gold at 96 kilograms for Russia at the 2008 Beijing Games. Saturday was his RAF debut against a 30-year-old UFC fighter who still spends his downtime on the mats between Octagon bookings.
Nickal entered the match two weeks after his first wrestling loss since 2020. Max McEnelly beat him 3-2 at RAF 12 on Aug. 22, ending a run that had lasted since Nickal fell to David Taylor at the Olympic trials.
His MMA form is stronger. Nickal is 9-1 as a professional and 6-1 in the UFC, with back-to-back wins since a May 2025 TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder.
He last fought on June 14, stopping Kyle Daukaus by TKO at 4:34 of Round 1 at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn. Before that, he knocked out Rodolfo Vieira with a head kick in Round 3 at UFC 322.
The Penn State product is a three-time NCAA Division I champion. He has used RAF as a place to stay sharp while waiting for his next UFC assignment, and he was the promotion’s inaugural light heavyweight champion.
Saturday’s match was not a blowout. Official results from FloWrestling, MMA Fighting, and MMA Mania all had Nickal winning 11-8 on points.
Video from the bout showed both men working in the clinch and on the mat. Muradov spent time on top, while Nickal attacked a leg and forced scrambles on a canvas marked for Moscow.
After the decision, Nickal stood under screens reading “winner” in English and Russian. He took a post-match interview on the stage in his red, white, and blue singlet.
The win does not change his UFC record. It does give him a result against a decorated Olympic champion after the McEnelly loss and keeps him active while the middleweight division waits for his next fight.
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Tyron Woodley was still scheduled to headline the rest of the RAF Moscow card. No UFC opponent has been announced for Nickal.
He will wait for the UFC to book that next middleweight fight. Until then, the 11-8 decision in Russia is another mark on a wrestling résumé he continues to build alongside his MMA career.