
Decorated wrestling champ Bo Nickal won his professional MMA debut on Friday night. Interestingly enough, he didn’t even need to use that vaunted grappling skills, as the 26-year-old showcased his striking and won with a brutal KO in under a minute.
Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion and 2019 US Open champion, has been working with American Top Team to hone his MMA game and it seems to be paying off.
After going 2-0 in 2021 as an amateur, Nickal had his professional MMA fight against fellow debutant John Noland at iKON FC 3. Fighting as a middleweight, Nickal dropped Noland with a left straight just thirty seconds in, and followed up with a combination that put him out completely shortly after.
Watch the brutal finish below:
HAS ARRIVED!!! #iKONFC3
[ @iKONFights | | on #UFCFIGHTPASS ] pic.twitter.com/Lo4EOHkMEL
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 4, 2022
In 2019 alone, Nickal won his third NCAA Division I title, his third Big Ten Championship, along with taking gold at the US National Championships and the U-23 World Championships. He competed from 197 to 213 lbs as a wrestler, but competed both as an amateur and a professional in MMA at 185 lbs.
About the author