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Bo Nickal may well be a long way from winning a UFC championship, but he’s undoubtedly one of the company’s biggest stars already.
Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion and Hodge Trophy (the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman) at Penn State, was seen as a can’t-miss prospect out of college.
Thus far, he’s lived up to the billing.
Nickal is 5-0 in his young MMA career and has never been out of the first round. He has three submission finishes to his name, one knockout, and one TKO.
The latter came last Saturday night against Val Woodburn in the opening fight of the UFC 292 main card.
So, what comes next for Nickal?
He says that he’s not sure. But he’s not ruling off a long break.
“There’s a chance [I don’t fight again this year],” Nickal said recently on The MMA Hour. “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.”
“Of course, the more I fight with less time in between fights, the bigger the hype grows and stuff,” Nickal continued. But that’s honestly to me pretty irrelevant. I don’t care about hype, or how much people are talking about me. I’m just here to fight.”
Those comments didn’t sit well with some fans.
So he has been constantly calling out top contenders and now he’s gonna sit out when it’s time to step up? 😂 https://t.co/MHLLDbTjsW
— AVATAR MMA 💨 (@AvatarMMA) July 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/R0DEMPTION/status/1679409087224877058?s=20
A prospect taking a year offf. This is what happens when people get more respect then what they should be
— Bam💥bam💥 (@Bambam333111) July 13, 2023
What those fans may not realize is that Nickal has good reason to take time off.
Nickal recently announced that he and his wife, Maddie, are expecting a child. So things appear to be looking up in all avenues for the rising UFC star.