Bo Nickal, who won three national wrestling champions and earned All-American honors in all four of his years with Penn State wrestling, is looking to make it big as an MMA fighter.
His professional debut went just about perfectly.
Nickal, fighting in Jorge Masvidal’s iKon Fighting Championship promotion, knocked out John Noland in 32 seconds to start his pro career 1-0.
Now, he’s looking to move to 2-0 by beating Zachary Borrego Aug. 9.
Nickal will be fighting Borrego as part of UFC boss Dana White’s contender series that will be streamed on ESPN+.
Nickal won both of his amateur bouts before turning pro.
Nickal, now 26, began the transition from wrestling to MMA after his season at Penn State.
He went to Florida to join prominent MMA camp American Top Team, working with UFC fighters such as iKon boss Masvidal. He helped these fighters prepare for bouts against opponents with a strong wrestling background.
Nickal intends to one day become a star in MMA’s biggest promotion, the UFC.
“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.”
