Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero has been scheduled for RAF 16

A Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero bout will be heading to RAF 16 on Dec. 19. It promises to be one of the promotion's most high-profile wrestling matches, not only because of both men's credentials in the sport, but because of the history surrounding the clash.

Third time's the charm for Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero

RAF recently took to social media to announce a catchweight crossover match between Bo Nickal and Yoel Romero. The two men will meet on Dec. 19, marking the third time that they've been booked to face each other in what has become an almost mythical pairing in RAF's short history. Nickal heads into the match with a 2-1 record, having beaten Jacob Cardenas in the promotion's inaugural event at RAF 01 for the light heavyweight title, before losing to Max McEnelly at RAF 12, then rebounding with a win against Shirvani Muradov at RAF Moscow.

Romero, by contrast, is 1-1. He made his RAF debut at RAF 04 in an interim light heavyweight title match, where he beat Pat Downey. This, though, was followed by a tough loss to Stephen Buchanan at RAF 05.

Ironically, both of Romero's appearances were originally booked to be against Nickal himself, who was supposed to have defended the light heavyweight belt against 'The Soldier of God' at RAF 04. Unfortunately, Nickal withdrew from the bout for reasons that remain undisclosed to this day, turning Romero's bout with the short-notice Downey into an interim title match. The matchup was subsequently rescheduled as a title unification match for RAF 05, as Romero had become the interim titleholder, while Nickal held the real belt. But in classic Romero fashion, he failed to make weight, and Nickal was unwilling to face him over what he considered to be blatant unprofessionalism.

Now, the two men will finally clash, unless another inconvenience happens. As far as how they match up, Nickal was once an exceptional wrestler, having been a three-time NCAA Division I champion, as well as a three-time Big Ten Conference champion. In 2019, he won the Dan Hodge Trophy, distinguishing him as the United States' then best collegiate wrestler. Romero's claim to fame, though, is different. He's an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, a former World Wrestling Champion, a three-time World Cup winner, and a five-time Pan-American champion.

Both men are also MMA fighters, with Romero having twice challenged for the interim UFC middleweight title, and once challenged for the undisputed belt. Nickal has not yet reached those heights, but is currently on a two-fight win streak in the UFC middleweight division and determined to one day enthrone himself as champion.