Bo Nickal is back.

Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal is set to take on Reinier de Ridder at UFC Fight Night 256 on May 3 in Des Moines, Iowa, the UFC announced Thursday. Nickal’s middleweight bout will serve as the second card on the night behind Cory Sandhagan and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Nickal, one of the sport’s rising stars, has notched a 4-0 start to his UFC career, plus a 2-0 run in Dana White’s Contender Series. In those two events, he won all but one of his contests to knockout or submission. In Nickal’s most recent fight against Paul Craig, he won by unanimous decision but left many fans feeling underwhelmed.

De Ridder, ranked No. 13, will be Nickal’s first ranked opponent. He has fought twice at the UFC level, winning by submission each time. Most recently, he defeated Kevin Hollard in the first round on January 18.

During his time at Penn State, Nickal established himself as one of college wrestling’s greats. During his time in Happy Valley from 2014 to 2019, Nickal won three national championships and the Hodge Trophy. In November 2024, Nickal called for UFC to travel to State College for an event, to which he said he’d draw 17,000 tickets himself.

Tickets for the event will go on sale on March 21, and folks can watch on ESPN+.