Max McEnelly Lands High-Profile Matchup With Bo Nickal at RAF

University of Minnesota star wrestler Max McEnelly won the 2026 NCAA national championship at 184 pounds, and he’s now set to face superstar Bo Nickal at Real American Freestyle (RAF) 12 on August 22nd in Cleveland, Ohio.

McEnelly is preparing for his redshirt junior season with the Gophers, and Nickal is 9-1 as a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, following a storied collegiate wrestling career at Penn State. Their freestyle wrestling match will be contested at 215 pounds.

RAF is an American freestyle wrestling promotion that was founded by Chad Bronstein, Terri Francis, and Hulk Hogan in 2025. The August 22nd show at Rocket Arena will be the one-year anniversary of the promotion. The fights will be broadcast on FOX Nation.

Nickal most recently competed at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, where he defeated Kyle Daukas via first-round finish. He’s now 6-1 in his UFC career. His match against McEnelly will be his second under RAF. He defeated Jacob Cardenas via decision at the promotion’s first show last summer.

Nickal is 6-foot-1, and he wrestled at 197 pounds at Penn State. He competes at the 185-pound middweight division in the UFC, so he might have a slight size advantage over McEnelly, who’s 5-foot-10. The event will be a high-profile opportunity, as McEnelly continues to establish himself as one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country.

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