Penn State wrestling great Bo Nickal is pretty good at MMA, too.
The three-time national champion and four-time All-American is now pursuing a UFC career, and Tuesday night, he beat Donovan Beard in less that a minute and improved to 3-0 for his pro career and 2-0 on UFC Boss Dana White’s Contender Series.
He is now officially in the UFC and boss Dana White said he’ll be in UFC’s upcoming EA Sports Video Game
BO NICKAL GETS IT DONE IN UNDER A MINUTE! #DWCS pic.twitter.com/IDkLeYpj7F
— UFC (@ufc) September 28, 2022
Many felt Nickal deserved a contract after his first contender series fight. Nickal dominated Zachary Borrego, submitting him in the first round, but didn’t get a contract from White just yet.
“Let’s get him one more fight and let’s test him,” White said after Nickal beat Borrego.
Well, he passed his latest test with flying colors.
Nickal had his first professional MMA fight in June for UFC star Jorge Masvidal’s iKon Fighting Championship and knocked out John Noland in 33 seconds. Before that, Nickal went 2-0 in his amateur career.
He finished his wrestling career at Penn State 120-3 and won the Hodge Trophy in 2019, which is wrestling’s version of the Heisman.
Nickal— whose wife, Maddie, was a three-time All American on Penn State women’s Track & Field team— wants to be a UFC champion, and Tuesday night brought him one step closer to what he hopes will be a long and fruitful journey.
“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.”
