Overview
- The rising middleweight targets the White House event after tensions with Covington escalated around RAF 5.
- Nickal describes the pairing as personal, citing Covington’s taunts after Nickal declined to face Yoel Romero when Romero missed weight.
- He points to Covington’s talk of moving to middleweight as a reason the bout makes competitive sense.
- The UFC has not announced the fight, and discussions about the June card’s lineup remain unresolved.
- Recent form factors include Nickal’s rebound head‑kick KO of Rodolfo Vieira following a 2025 loss to Reinier de Ridder, and Covington’s two MMA defeats offset by a RAF wrestling win over Luke Rockhold.