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There is perhaps no bigger rising star in the UFC today than that of Bo Nickal.
Nickal, a middleweight, is just 1-0 in his UFC career and 4-0 in professional MMA career, but fellow fighters already have him destined for greatness.
It’s not hard to see why, either.
Nickal is a former college wrestler for powerhouse Penn State University. He won three individual national championships competing at 184 and 197 pounds, and won the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy as a senior.
Nickal made one run at making the US National Team in wrestling before ultimately transitioning to MMA. With the help of American Top Team, he built his own training center near Penn State.
Since then, he’s flown through the rankings, making his UFC debut in March. Nickal won his debut against Jamie Pickett via first round submission.
He’s set to return to the octagon on July to take on Tresean Gore at UFC 290 in Las Vegas.
In the lead up to that fight, Nickal is training at American Top Team’s primary gym in Florida. But during one recent trip, he had a run-in with police that could’ve gone sideways.
Nickal shared the incident on the most recent episde of his Bo Nickal Vlogz YouTube series. He, along with fellow prospects Anthony Cassar and George Carpenter, were driving when Nickal was pulled over for not maintaining his lane.
Ultimately, the interaction went pretty smoothy, but as Nickal describes it, he “almost got arrested.”
When exactly the incident took place is unsure. Most recently, Nickal was in New Jersey to help coach former Penn State teammate Jason Nolf at the USA Wrestling world team qualification finals.
Sadly, Nolf did not make the team. But the event wasn’t short on storylines, as former elite prospect turned fentanyl addict Chance Marsteller made an incredible comeback to dethrone seven-time world and Olympic champ Jordan Burroughs.
Meanwhile, Nickal can now return his focus to MMA and his upcoming second UFC fight.