If anyone has a right to be bitter about 17-year-old Raul Rosas
Jr. Jr. securing a UFC contract on his first Dana White’s
Contender Series appearance, it’s Bo
Nickal.
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After all Nickal is a three-time NCAA national champion wrestler at
Penn State University, won an under-23 world championship and was a
finalist at the 2020 U.S. Olympic team trials. As one of the most
highly-touted prospects in recent memory, Nickal rolled through
Zachary
Borrego on Week 3 of the Contender Series, winning via
submission in 62 seconds. And yet, UFC president Dana White needed
to see more.
“I don’t know what else he could have done to look any better. He
looked incredible. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is
because he’s 2-0 now,” White said after the fight. “We got eight
more weeks of this. Why not have him fight here again, you know
what I mean? It just makes sense.”
It would seem that Nickal’s credentials would far surpass that of
someone like Rosas Jr., who is 6-0 in MMA but didn’t earn a notable
victory until he outpointed Mando
Gutierrez on the Contender Series last week. Nickal isn’t
concerned about anyone’s progress but his own, and he had nothing
but praise for Rosas Jr.’s achievement.
“Everybody is on their own trajectory. Good for him,” Nickal told
ESPN. “That’s a cool accomplishment for him, to be the youngest
fighter on the roster. But I have a different plan for myself and
where I’m headed. So what others do in the sport doesn’t affect me.
If other people have success, I’m not a hater in any way. Go ahead
and do your thing.”
Nickal will return to action against Cage Fury Fighting
Championships title holder Donovan
Beard on Tuesday night in at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Another
impressive performance would seemingly assure him of receiving a
shot in the UFC. Even if he does, Nickal has bigger goals in
mind.
“I’m not here to get a UFC contract,” Nickal said. “I’m here to be
UFC champion, the No. 1 fighter in the world. That’s what’s on the
horizon for me.”
Nickal is not a wrestler who’s getting into MMA just to make some
extra money. On the contrary, he’s always been a fan of the
sport.
“You’d see this huge arena filled with fans, people cheering, all
the lights,” Nickal said. “The whole atmosphere was such a cool
thing for me to watch. I used to envision myself making that
walk.”
Nickal, who trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla.,
told ESPN that he hopes to make his Octagon debut at UFC Fight
Night in Orlando on Dec. 3. Whenever his first UFC appearance
occurs, don’t expect Nickal to stray too far from his
bread-and-butter.
“There have been some great wrestlers in MMA, but sometimes I’ve
seen them abandon their wrestling and get into brawls. That’s not
going to be me,” Nickal said. “Anybody I fight for the rest of my
career has to be prepared for a wrestling match. Whoever I go
against, I can grab them and throw them to the ground anytime I
want to. So that’s something that every single guy should be
prepared for. For me, I’m sticking with my roots, and I believe
that’s the path that will make me No. 1 in the sport.”