Penn State wrestling great and current UFC up-and-comer Bo Nickal got his picture taken with a pretty famous figure.
Former President Donald Trump was at the final day of the LIV Golf Tour’s event at his course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Nickal was there, as well, and posed with No. 45.
The three-time national champion, four-time NCAA finalist and 2019 Hodge Trophy winner posted the picture — along with a brief video of Trump from a distance that featured Nickal smiling and giving a thumbs up for the camera — to his Instagram account Sunday evening as part of a slideshow.
This is the second time in less than three weeks that Trump and Nickal have been linked.
Last month, Trump was a guest on the UFC Unfiltered podcast this week on UFC Fight Pass, and he praised Penn State wrestling legend Nickal.
“You have somebody fighting Bo tonight,” Trump said. “He was at the White House. He was with (United States Representative) Jim Jordan. Jim Jordan was a great wrestler. He was an NCAA champion. He brought all of the championship wrestlers in their divisions to the White House.
He said, ‘That guy (Nickal) is going to be a UFC fighter, and that guy is going to be great.’
Jordan was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion at 134 pounds from the University of Wisconsin in 1985 and 1986. Bo Nickal won gold in three straight years from 2017-19 while at Penn State. He also won the Big Ten three times.
Nickal’s sports legacy is already secure thanks to what he did at Penn State but he has a chance to reach another level in the UFC. He’s 2-0 in his professional career, with each win coming in the first round. It’s not clear when Nickal will have his next fight. He said in July that he is not in a hurry.
“There’s a chance [I don’t fight again this year],” Nickal said. “I could easily fight two more times. I could fight next week if I wanted, but for me, everything that I’m training for and preparing for is my 10th title defense down the road. I’m not preparing for my next fight. That’s my mindset always, so I’m going to do what prepares me best for 10 title defenses.”
