[ad_1]
Bo Nickal confirmed he belonged within the UFC seven weeks in the past. Preventing on Dana White’s Contender Collection on Aug. 9, he made fast work of an overmatched opponent, choking out Zachary Borrego in simply 1 minute 2 seconds. For that gorgeous present of brutal effectivity, Nickal earned a stream of platitudes from White, who referred to him as “superb” and “one of many hottest prospects within the sport.”
What Nickal didn’t get that night time from the struggle promotion president, although, was a UFC contract.
White made the curious alternative to carry off on signing Nickal proper at that second and as an alternative provide the three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion a second tryout on the Contender Collection, which occurs on Tuesday within the present’s season finale (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET). Followers and pundits alike dissed White’s choice to delay the seemingly inevitable. However Nickal took it in stride.
“I am not right here to get a UFC contract,” Nickal mentioned. “I am right here to be UFC champion, the No. 1 fighter on the earth. That is what’s on the horizon for me.”
If Nickal was in search of approval from his future boss that night time by saying the correct factor, his resolve to take action has since been examined once more. On final week’s Contender Collection episode, White awarded a contract to a 17-year-old, Raul Rosas Jr.
Absolutely the teenager cannot be extra ready for the Octagon than the 26-year-old Nickal, who regardless of being simply 2-0 as an expert, has a glowing resume stuffed with competitors on distinguished phases. Together with successful three particular person NCAA titles and making the ultimate as a freshman, Nickal was a part of 4 straight nationwide championship groups at Penn State. He received an under-23 world championship in 2019 and was a finalist on the 2020 US Olympic crew trials.
And but Nickal doesn’t begrudge Rosas for touchdown a roster spot earlier than him.
“No, by no means. All people is on their very own trajectory. Good for him,” Nickal mentioned final week. “That is a cool accomplishment for him, to be the youngest fighter on the roster. However I’ve a distinct plan for myself and the place I am headed. So what others do within the sport would not have an effect on me. If different folks have success, I am not a hater in any approach. Go forward and do your factor.”
1:00
Bo Nickal exhibits off his spectacular wrestling expertise as he submits Zachary Borrego with a rear-naked-choke within the first spherical.
So, what’s Tuesday night time’s middleweight struggle in opposition to Donovan Beard speculated to show? It might be a stretch to say White and the UFC organized this second Contender Collection look to check Nickal additional and even to construct up the drama for his entry to the UFC, as a result of few have any doubts about how this struggle will finish. Caesars Sportsbook has Nickal as a 16-to-1 favourite — regardless of it being simply his third professional struggle. This reserving appears much less about what Nickal can get out of one other Tuesday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas versus the Contender Collection driving Nickal’s coattail on the hype prepare.
Nickal’s arrival within the UFC has been lengthy awaited. Whereas many wrestling greats have gone on to see success within the Octagon, it is typically been a fallback for others, typically with hesitation, in pursuit of a money-making alternative after they’re carried out with their singlet. Nickal, nonetheless, has been envisioning an MMA profession ever since he was younger.
“I all the time preferred preventing,” he mentioned. “Not simply wrestling competitors, both. My associates and I’d bare-knuckle struggle one another for enjoyable on the playground. That was part of my day by day life that I all the time loved.”
What remodeled childhood play right into a profession path was the environment surrounding the large MMA fights he would watch on TV. “You’d see this enormous enviornment stuffed with followers, folks cheering, all of the lights,” Nickal mentioned. “The entire environment was such a cool factor for me to observe. I used to check myself making that stroll.”
If all goes to plan on Tuesday, Nickal will quickly notice his dream of strolling out to the cage in a packed enviornment. He mentioned he hopes to make his UFC debut at a Dec. 3 Struggle Night time on the 18,000-seat Amway Heart in Orlando, Florida, simply upstate from the place he trains at American High Staff in Coconut Creek. Nickal has been rounding out his ability set in that gymnasium, working with Jorge Masvidal and others on his standup sport.
However make no mistake, Nickal mentioned: If he fights within the UFC, he is not going to neglect the talents that bought him there.
“There have been some nice wrestlers in MMA, however typically I’ve seen them abandon their wrestling and get into brawls. That is not going to be me,” Nickal mentioned. “Anyone I struggle for the remainder of my profession needs to be ready for a wrestling match. Whoever I am going in opposition to, I can seize them and throw them to the bottom anytime I wish to. In order that’s one thing that each single man needs to be ready for. For me, I am sticking with my roots, and I imagine that is the trail that can make me No. 1 within the sport.”
Source link