Is Bo Nickal the Best Prospect to Ever Enter the UFC?

 BO NICKAL IS COMING FOR THE MIDDLEWEIGHT BELT


         Season Six of Dana White's Contender Series has wrapped up and the UFC has awarded the most contracts in the history of DWCS with 43 signed fighters, which beat last season's record of 39.

    The season was highlighted with several great performances including one from a 17 year old Raul Rosas Jr., but the fighter that caught the most attention after this season was Penn State wrestling national champion and now undefeated mixed martial artist Bo Nickal. 

     Nickal is by far the most decorated collegiate wrestler that we've seen enter the UFC, and that includes hall-of-famers Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar and future hall-of-famers Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.

   Many fans first introduction to Nickal was at UFC 251, where Jorge Masvidal brought Nickal into his training camp to help him prepare for the wrestling-centered champion Kamaru Usman. Nickal was in Masvidal's corner for that fight, and his effect was clear to see as Masvidal stuffed a lot of Usman's takedowns in their fight. 

    Now let me quickly run through Nickal's laundry list of wrestling credentials:


  4x National Finalist, 3x National Champion, 3x Big Ten Champion, 4x All American, 2019 Hodge Trophy Winner (wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy), and now a 3-0 mixed martial artist signed with the UFC. 

        However, it takes a lot more to become a great mixed martial artist than just a pure wrestler, as every fighter must learn how to box, kick, defend themselves on the ground, and frankly be able to take a punch.  

        After Nickal's two fights on Dana White's Contender Series, he appears to be one of the most talented prospects the sport has ever seen. 

        His first fight took place as the main event on Week 3 of Season 6 against 3-0 Zach Borrego. It took Nickal all of 62 seconds to dismantle Borrego and submit him via rear-naked-choke. Nickal sprinted across the octagon, slammed Borrego on the mat and submitted him with relative ease. 





    Since this was just Bo's second professional fight, Dana White wanted to bring him back to fight again on the Season Finale and earn his contract. 

    When asked about his contract snub after the Borrego fight, Nickal was not phased whatsoever, saying "I'm not really worried about the contract because I don't just plan on being in the UFC, I'm going to be the champion so if I have to fight again so be it." 

                                                                Talk about confidence...

    His next fight was against Donovan Beard, a 7-1 fighter with multiple finishes including three submissions and two knockouts. Also, he was Cage Fury's Middleweight Champion before his fight with Nickal. 

    Beard was clear step up in competition for Nickal, and he somehow managed to top his previous performance just seven weeks later...


    

    Nickal needed only 52 seconds this time, and managed to display all the skills that a champion in the UFC needs to show. The feints to set up his straight left hand that knocked Beard down was a thing of beauty, and the transition to the triangle choke to end the fight was reminiscent of Khabib Nurmagomedov's submission of Justin Gaethje. 

    It was truly stunning to witness the show that Nickal put on during this season of DWCS, and it took less than 24 hours for Nickal to have his first fight booked in the UFC. 

    Bo Nickal (3-0) will be fighting Jamie Pickett (13-8) at UFC 282 on December 10th. The card is rumored to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

    In both of Nickal's first two fights on DWCS, he closed as over a -1000 favorite, and the current odds for his debut fight this December see Nickal as a ginormous -1800 favorite to beat Pickett. 

    Buy stock in Nickal now, because we're witnessing the conception of the UFC's next great champion in their prestigious Middleweight division. 

        

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