The UFC is headed back to Cleveland in February 2027, and Bo Nickal will be headlining.
No, Bo will not be fighting Joe Pyfer at UFC 335 on December 12th and THEN fighting again in February, two months later. Instead, Nickal vs. Pyfer will be moved from UFC 335 to the new Cleveland date.
Nickal announced the move at a political rally for Ohio Governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Nickal lives and wrestled in Pennsylvania, and the two states share a border and a fanatical love for collegiate wrestling.
“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. So, I’m sure I’m going to see a bunch of you guys there supporting. I appreciate you guys. We are gonna go smash this guy and then go take the belt.”
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🚨 Bo Nickal just announced that his fight against Joe Pyfer scheduled for UFC 335 in December got moved
He’ll instead be headlining an event in Cleveland in February 👀 pic.twitter.com/o3RjUF1MFG
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 16, 2026
Pyfer responded to the video of Nickal, writing, “Bro talking about gonna go smash this dude. I will take your fake dreams away. Poor kid vs rich kid.”
Nickal has been in the UFC for three years and has a 6-1 record to show for it. Many feel like this Pyfer fight is a good ‘Put up or shut up’ moment for the three time Division I wrestling champ, who has been given plenty of time to acclimatize to the UFC. Pyfer hasn’t fought since a second round KO of Israel Adesanya back in March. It will be nearly a year by the time he returns in Cleveland.
As for UFC 335, it still features Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes for the BMF belt, Alex Pereira vs. Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight contender’s match, and a fun scrap between former flyweight champ Brandon Moreno and Charles “InnerG” Johnson.
A date or venue for UFC Cleveland has yet to be announced. The last time the promotion visitied the city was 2016 for UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem at what is now known as Rocket Arena.