The Bo Nickal next fight news should arrive soon, until then we look at three possible opponents for his return to the UFC and review his decisive victory at UFC 300.
Who will Bo Nickal next fight be against?
In April the former amateur wrestling superstar was gifted a spot on the main card of the historic UFC 300 card. While it wasn’t a fight that was filled with impressive highlights, Nickal again scored another finish to move his record to 6-0. For his next booking inside the octagon, top 25 middleweights like Andre Petroski, Jacob Malkoun, and Christian Leroy Duncan would make sense as his next opponent.
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- Battle of PA: Petroski is a PA native — like Nickal — with a strong wrestling and BJJ background. On a grappling level, he would offer a very real test and may force Nickal to win the fight on the feet.
- Mamba: Malkoun is another fighter trying to work their way up in the UFC. While he has much more experience than Nickal, he is a solid step up in competition while also still being a winnable fight.
- CLD: The Englishman is a dangerous striker and would offer big concerns for the talented prospect in the process of trying to get the fight to the mat and his easiest route to victory.
Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage recap
While it wasn’t easy early on, Bo Nickal needed just a round and a half to employ his vaunted wrestling and score a sixth straight win to open up his potential-rich MMA career at UFC 300.
What happened: Cody Brundage offered solid resistance in the first few minutes of their bout but eventually Nickal grounded him and kept him there for the rest of the round. While he survived in the opening frame the same happened in the second and he was eventually forced to tap out to a submission just under two minutes into the round.
The fallout: Nickal showed how impressive his grappling is, but we all knew that. Although he got the win, he proved he still has a lot of work to do when it comes to his striking and is a very talented work-in-progress.
The roadmap: The UFC will continue their slow burn with Nickal and he will probably get a fighter that is toward the back of the top 20 to 25 fighters in their middleweight division.
What makes Bo Nickal so popular?
Bo Nickal is one of the most hyped prospects of the decade because of his impressive accolades during his college wrestling career at Penn State. He also has a brash and very confident personality. That matched with his uncanny wrestling credentials is a good starting point for a fighter with legitimate superstar potential and that is why so many UFC fans are watching his career closely.
- Bo Nickal record: 6-0
- Bo Nickal weight class: Middleweight (186-pound limit)
- Bo Nickal stats: 2 knockouts, 4 submissions
- At an early age, Nickal proved to be a wrestling savant when he landed a spot on his local varsity high school wrestling team while he was an eighth grader.
- He would eventually move to Texas for his high school career and was a three-time state champion.
- Nickal continued his wrestling career at Penn State and went on to make history by winning three NCAA national championships
- He also won the 2019 Under-23 World Championship and the US Open National Championship. Plus he also reached the finals of the US Olympic trials in 2020.
- Nickal began his MMA career with a 33-second KO win in 2022.
- Over his first five fights, he has never gone past the first round.
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Bo Nickal net worth
Money is often one of the greatest measuring sticks for a fighter’s success. As of 2024, Bo Nickal’s net worth is estimated to be as much as $3 million.