Nickal made weight without issue ahead of his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, tipping the scales at 185.5 pounds on Monday. All nine other athletes slated to compete on Week 10 of the show — the last episode of the season — hit their contracted marks, as well.
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The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured matchup is a middleweight clash between Nickal and Donovan Beard (184).Nickal, a three-time NCAA national champion at Penn State University, is one of the most high-touted MMA prospects in recent memory. The 26-year-old was dominant in his first Contender Series appearance, submitting Zachary Borrego with a rear-naked choke in just 62 seconds on Aug. 9.
Beard, 32, has been victorious in seven of eight professioal outings. Most recently, he cla…