At Penn State, Bo Nickal was about as dominant as a college wrestler could be.
He was an All-American in all four seasons at Penn State, a national champion in three of them and finished his college career with a 135-5 record.
Since graduation, Nickal, now 26, has moved from the wrestling mats to the Mixed Martial Arts cages, and now, Fight Pass, the UFC’s streaming service, tweeted that Nickal has has his professional MMA debut set for June 3.
I’m back 😈 https://t.co/nuLFxaER85
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) May 3, 2022
Nickal— who’s wife, Maddie (formerly Holmberg,) was a three-time All-American at Penn State in Track & Field and competed to qualify in the 2020 Olympics— has won both of his amateur MMA bouts, and now, is moving up in the ranks to fight professionally.
It’s not yet clear who Nickal’s first pro opponent will be, but the perception is that it will be a fighter associated with one of Fight Pass’s partner promotions.
Nickal began the transition to MMA after his last wrestling season, and when to Florida to join prominent MMA camp American Top Team, working with UFC fighters such as Jorge Masvidal and helping them prepare for fights against opponents with more of a wrestling background.
Both of Nickal’s amateur fights were held at the 185-pound weight class in the middleweight division. He beat David Conley his guillotine choke in September and knocked out Bill Goode in November.
Nickal was a champion in wrestling, and intends to one day be a UFC champion as well.
“I want to be the best pound-for-pound UFC guy in the planet,” Nickal told MMA Junkie back in March. “At this point, that’s what I train for, that’s what I keep my mind on every day in these sessions.”
”I’m early in my career,” he said in the same interview, “I only have two amateur fights, so it’s a long road ahead, but I’m really excited for it.”
