Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal confirmed for UFC 300
Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal knows when he’ll return to the octagon for his next fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). On Thursday evening, UFC president Dana White announced multiple fights on social media for the promotion, including three fights for UFC 300, which will take place April 13 in Las Vegas. The event is expected to be one of the biggest ever for the UFC.
With Nickal being arguably the sports best up-and-coming star, White confirmed that Nickal will return that evening to face Cody Brundage. The 29-year-old Brundage is 10-5 in his career, winning his last two fights in the first round. Brundage just fought earlier this month, Dec. 2, knocking out Zachary Reese in just under two minutes.
However, Nickal will be a massive step up in competition. DraftKings sportsbook has already listed Nickal as a -1350 favorite against Brundage.
“There really hasn’t been that many people that have done what I’ve done,” Nickal said on the Joe Rogan podcast earlier this week. “I’m 5-0 right now and I started training in August of 2021, MMA.”
Nickal’s last UFC fight was back in July 2023 when he knocked out Valentine Woodburn in just 38 seconds at UFC 290. All five of his wins so far have been in the first round, totaling two knockouts and three submission wins. His longest fight so far went just 2 minutes, 54 seconds when Nickal defeated Jamie Pickett at UFC 285 by submission.
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Nickal fought for the first time in June 2022, knocking out John Norland in just 33 seconds. He said immied
“After [my first professional fight] happened, the next morning, UFC, Bellator, One FC, PFO, boom, boom, boom, [start] calling,” Nickal said on Rogan’s podcast. “I’m like, ‘What the F***?’ I’m 1-0 pro. I’ve been training [just] eight months or whatever, nine months.”
“My initial plan, like before any of this happened, was, ‘I’m gonna get 10 fights on the regional scene, and then I’m gonna go to the UFC and I’ll be the champ by 13, 14 fights.’ That’s what the plan was. But then after that, it was like, everybody kind of knows what’s up. Everybody’s trying to sign me. I talked to my manager and I was like, ‘Dude, am I going to even be able to get a fight? Like, who’s going to fight me on the regional scene promotions? Like, who’s going to fight me?’ He was like, ‘I’ll be honest with you, nobody is gonna fight you.’
“So, I was like, ‘OK.’ In my mind, I was always going to the UFC.”
During his time at Penn State, Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion. We won the 2019 U23 World Championship and was finalist at the 2020 US Olympic Trials before transitioning full-time to mixed martial arts.
