Bo Nickal is trying to be realistic with his path in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Careers don’t get off to much hotter starts than Nickal’s has. In five fights, the Penn State wrestling sensation has finished all of his opponents with four of those ending under 63 seconds. Nickal has proven to be a Middleweight prospect with guaranteed contender potential, it’s just a matter of how quickly he rises through the ranks.
Fresh off a 38-second starching of Val Woodburn at UFC 290 (watch highlights) earlier this month (July 8, 2023), Nickal remained undefeated and appears ready for a step up in competition. Nickal, 27, believes a return in December 2023 could be realistic, but wants to assess his overall game with his team to see if he should continue to train for longer before continuing his progression. While in no rush, Nickall can see himself reaching a title fight quicker than perhaps others with his experience would.
“I’ll get the belt when the time comes and when I’m ready to do it so I see myself fighting three-four more times fighting ranked guys,” Nickal told Michael Bisping. “I’m probably not gonna have to fight 10 ranked guys to get to the belt. I’m probably gonna be able to fight a guy in the top 15, fight a guy in the top 5, maybe one more guy, and get to the title.
“There’s a lot of what-ifs, but I’m just trying to map it out as best I can,” he concluded.
Middleweight in UFC has seen several notable and fascinating shifts in recent months amongst the title picture. Nickal rising through the ranks at a fast pace would be nothing after seeing what the former champion, Alex Pereira, did last year, capturing gold in only his fourth Octagon appearance.