Penn State wrestling legend Bo Nickal is no longer undefeated in MMA.
Nickal, who came in as the favorite against Reiner de Ridder, was TKO’d 1:53 into second round, falling to 7-1 in his MMA career and 4-1 in his UFC career.
Round 1 featured plenty of grappling and ended with Nickal having a noticeable cut on his ear.
In Round 2, de Ridder began to strike, and eventually got Nickal into enough trouble for a stoppage to be warranted.
With the win, the veteran de Ridder is 20-2. It was expected that de Ridder would be Nickal’s toughest opponent thus far. Indeed, he was.
Nickal’s first two UFC fights went a combined 3:32, with the most recent one— a TKO of Val Woodburn at UFC 290 July 8– lasting a whopping 38 seconds. He one his next two fights, as well, with the most recent being a November decision over Paul Craig that was not well-received by the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Nickal’s athletic legacy was already secure before he reached the UFC.
Bo Nickal is one of the best in the history of arguably the most dominant dynasty in college sports— Penn State wrestling. He won three national titles, was a four-time All-American and the winner of the Hodge Trophy, which is wrestling’s Heisman. He plans to make his UFC career even more dominant, and although he’s still relatively new to the sport, when he fights, it feels like a big deal.
The goal for him is to be a UFC champion, and while Nickal is still a young man at 29, that goal took a big hit early Sunday morning.
