Bo Nickal vs Jamie Pickett: UFC 285 Odds, Prediction

Their tilt kicks off at around 10 PM ET. Nickal is a -1465 favourite on the MMA odds with Pickett +800.

Bo Nickal UFC 285 Odds

Alex Pereira is the current UFC middleweight champion and the 27-year-old Nickal, who fights out of Florida, is unranked just three fights into his professional career – all wins. Nickal was a legendary wrestler at Penn State as a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten champion, three-time Division I national champion and winner of the 2019 Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top wrestler. In freestyle wrestling, he won the 2019 U23 World Championship and the US Open national championship, and was a finalist at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials.

Nickal was to fight Pickett at UFC 282 in December but Nickal had to withdraw due to injury, so he’s still waiting to make his official UFC debut. The Colorado-born Nickal made his pro debut June 2022 at iKon Fighting Championship 3, where he beat John Noland by first-round knockout (punches) in just 33 seconds. His next two fights were both during the 2022 season of Dana White’s Contender Series, and Nickal beat Zachary Borrego by first-round submission (rear-naked choke) and then Donovan Beard by first-round submission (triangle choke) to earn his official UFC ticket.

It’s tough to get a read on Nickal considering he hasn’t even been in the Octagon for three official minutes yet. The 6-foot-1 southpaw has a reach of 76 inches and his fights average just 0:57. He lands 3.68 significant strikes per minute with 70 per cent accuracy and absorbs 0.00 with 100 per cent defence – literally yet to absorb a significant strike. His takedown average is an incredible 23.68 per 15 minutes with 100 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is zero per cent.

Jamie Pickett UFC 285 Odds

The 34-year-old Pickett, from North Carolina, is unranked with a 13-8 career mark and is a former Next Level Fight Club champion. His UFC debut was in December 2020 when he lost by unanimous decision to Tafon Nchukwi.

“The Nightwolf” enters on a two-fight losing streak. He was last in the Octagon in September 2022 and was beaten by second-round TKO (knees and punches) by Denis Tiuliulin. A powerful knee sent Pickett to his knees, and Tiuliulin then finished things off. Pickett said he’s not shocked to be such a big underdog Saturday against a rising star in Nickal.

“Nah (it doesn’t surprise me). I got losses,” Pickett said. “So, I mean, people feel how they feel. Same thing, if I’m looking at a team (that) plays Duke and they’re a team that’s not doing well, I’m like, ‘Duke’s gonna win.’ So, you should feel that way.”

The 6-foot-2 Pickett has a reach of 80 inches and his fights average 9:36. He lands 3.2 significant strikes per minute with 50 per cent accuracy and absorbs 4.36 with 47 per cent defence.  His takedown average is 1.39 per 15 minutes with 36 per cent defence, and his takedown average is 65 per cent.

Eight of Pickett’s wins are by KO/TKO, four by decision and one by submission. He has three losses each by submission and decision and two by KO/TKO.

UFC 285: Nickal vs. Pickett Prediction

Nickal by submission