Bo Nickal: ‘There’s Always Room To Improve’ (2024)

Athletes

UFC 300

Nickal’s two UFC appearances have seen him submit Jamie Pickett with an arm-triangle choke, then finish Val Woodburn with strikes. As starts go, Nickal’s has been emphatic, and he admits he’s been pleased with the work he’s done so far.

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“I think I did well,” he told UFC.com, with a grin, when asked to grade his first year on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I give myself maybe a maybe an A-, because I think there could have been some improvements and there's always things to do better. But I did what I needed to do. Two fights, didn't get hit, two finishes. So, pretty happy with it overall, but there’s always room to improve.”

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Nickal takes on Cody Brundage in the opening bout of the main card at UFC 300. It’s a spot he’s been familiar with in both of his prior UFC appearances, having kicked off the pay-per-view cards at UFC 285 and UFC 290.

“I wouldn't say I feel any extra pressure,” he said.

“It's been the last two fights – we're in the same spot, the same position. Obviously, this one's bigger with it being UFC 300. But for me, it's an honor to be where I'm at on the card. A lot of really amazing fighters are competing on Saturday. And I'm just happy that I'm going to be able to be one of them, and I’m looking forward to putting on a show, for sure.”

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The matchup with Brundage pits Nickal against a fighter with a solid wrestling base of his own. But, as the former Penn State standout explained, there are levels when it comes to collegiate wrestling expertise, and Nickal’s caliber is just about as high as it gets.

“I think it's a nice challenge for me, with him having a wrestling background and kind of being able to present new problems,” he said.

“But, at the same time, I've been wrestling my whole life. And I think any wrestling situation that we get into, I'm obviously going to win. And I think he knows that, as well.

“So he might not be afraid of getting taken down or held down, but the reality is I do that to the best wrestlers in the world on a daily basis. And it's something that I think that he's probably never felt before.

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“He has competed, but there's a difference between competing in collegiate wrestling versus the highest level of collegiate wrestling, wrestling the Big 10 schedule and the NCAA Tournament, stuff like that. So I feel like he might be a little surprised.”

Unlike many prospects on their way up, Nickal has shied away from setting his sights on specific names to help climb the ladder. Instead, he has looked inwards and focused purely on his own development. His reasoning is clear: keep winning, and he’ll get his rewards in due course.

“For me, my main focus is to just improve, get better and keep figuring out MMA and the sport,” he explained.

“It’s something that I really enjoy – that idea of just always improving and trying to figure out new things to add to my game, stuff like that. So that's the main thing I’m focused on.

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“Of course, I have big goals. My plan is to be the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world and UFC champion, so that’s kind of a milestone, but the main thing is just continually improving. That’s really all I’m focused on.”

That desire to constantly improve is paired with his fascination with learning and developing new skills. With a stellar collegiate wrestling career in his back pocket, Nickal has stayed humble as he has exposed himself to the more wide-ranging skillset of mixed martial arts. Learning the new disciplines and working out how to team them with his elite wrestling base has been a source of real enjoyment for the 28-year-old.

“I think that it's interesting when you do something for so long – I wrestled for over 20 years and competed at the highest levels in the world – and then to start over and be a beginner at something was tough, and it had its challenges. But that was also really fun,” he explained.

“For me, I think I'm the type of person that enjoys new ventures and learning new things. And so, while it's been quick, I've had to learn on the job. That's also just part of what I find fun about it, is being a beginner and taking that mindset of just starting from scratch. It’s just something that I don't think very many people get the opportunity to do in life.

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“So for me, having competed at a high level in something already, I just take all the lessons that I learned from that, and then try to apply them and expedite the process a little bit.”

Nickal stands undefeated at 5-0, with all five wins coming inside the opening round. And while he admits that there’s always a chance his bout with Brundage could go past the five-minute mark, he sees no reason why he can’t continue his streak of fast finishes.

When we asked him if he saw this fight going into the second round for the first time in his career, he said, “I've had a few people ask me that actually!

“Round one finish? Round two? I could see it go into the second round. I think, if I were to have to guess, I would say probably not. But it's possible, you never know.

“I don't think he's gonna make it 15 minutes. So no matter where the fight goes, I'm dangerous. I can finish him. Obviously, people have seen me get submissions, I’ve got knockouts on my record, so I don't think that he'll be able to withstand that.

“And something that I haven't been able to show is I have great cardio, great conditioning, just years and years of competing at a high level. So that's not really a question for me at all. But that being said, it'll be a finish. I don't know if it'd be first or second round, but he’s not making it 15 minutes, for sure.”