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Bo Nickal defeated Jamie Pickett by first round submission in the opening fight of the UFC 285 main card.
Controversy may have reared it’s ugly head early in the bout, as Nickal may have nailed Pickett with an accidental low blow before scoring the takedown and tapping out Pickett a few moments later.
LaMont Chappell, an MMA manager who represents Pickett, issued a statement, which was obtained by MMA Junkie, stating that an appeal would be filed to overturn the fight result to a no contest.
“It’s very important that like all other major sports (including collegiate sports) replays are necessary to manage fair play,” Chappell said in a written statement. “It seems these types of issues from judges and officials are becoming more and more common in MMA. At the end of the day they (officials) are human; however a fighter who trains his ass off should not be penalized for mistakes by individuals who are paid to make the best judgments for the integrity of the sport.”
Jamie Pickett's manager LaMont Chappell tells me they will be appealing the result of the Bo Nickal fight with the NSAC, citing a low blow directly led to the takedown and finish. #UFC285 https://t.co/w9GWVxzqlL
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) March 5, 2023
Nickal, during his post-fight press conference, stated that the knee strike hit the inner thigh of Pickett and not the groin.
“I hit him in the leg, in the thigh,” Nickal said (transcript via Nolan King & Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “I had him in a bad position along the wall. He wanted to get off the wall and he wanted the ref to stop it. If I were to have actually hit him low, I would feel bad because I don’t want to win that way. I’m not a cheater. I’m not somebody who tries to take short cuts. If I did hit him low, I would’ve just relaxed probably or let the ref stop it. But I didn’t hit him low at all, so it’s a weird move, bro.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) will be the ones who will hear Pickett’s appeal, there is no word at this time as to when a ruling will be made.
