Bo Nickal, the three-time NCAA Division 1 national champion is taking the world of mixed martial arts by storm with his most recent appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Nickal who is one of the most successful collegiate athletes in recorded history delivered another spectacular performance against Donovan Beard on Tuesday night. It was Nickal’s second appearance on the show in as many months. His first outing inside the Octagon was a rousing success as the former Nittany Lion scored a 62-second rear-naked choke over Zack Borrego.
Not quite ready to sign Nickal, UFC President Dana White invited the highly-touted prospect back to DWCS. Seven weeks later, Bo Nickal returned to the APEX and delivered another show-stopping performance, tapping out Beard with a triangle choke in 52-seconds. At last, Bo Nickal had earned his contract with the UFC.
‘Big’ John McCarthy Sees Big Things For Bo Nickal
Former UFC referee turned Bellator MMA color commentator ‘Big’ John McCarthy shared his thoughts on Nickal’s potential during his appearance on ‘Fight Nation‘ on SiriusXM.
“Oh, there’s no doubt. He’s special and this is my whole thing is, he’s gonna have that same thing that Aaron Pico had. That when Aaron had some failures in the beginning, everyone threw him aside like he’s nothing. Bo Nickal is gonna be a champion someday. He’s got all the right mentality. He’s done these types of things for life. He understands what it takes. Give him time though. Don’t expect him to be the champ next month, next year. Give him time.”
"Bo [Nickal] is going to be a champion someday."@JohnMcCarthyMMA discusses Bo Nickal's MMA future and draws early career comparisons to Bellator's own Aaron Pico.@RyanMcKinnell @AngieOverkill #Bellator286 pic.twitter.com/z1XBIVLU4J
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) September 28, 2022
Just days after his picture-perfect performance on Tuesday night, the UFC has announced that Bo Nickal will make his official UFC debut on December 12th against Jamie Pickett, a 13-8 fighter coming off of back-to-back losses by way of stoppage.
Nickal, who is now 3-0, made his professional MMA debut at Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC 3 in June. The former Big-10 champion got a quick 33-second knockout over John Noland. With two more DWCS wins under his belt, Nickal will enter the Octagon this December with an undefeated record and a whole lot of hype.
