Tag: bo nickal

Donald Trump Wanted to Manage UFC’s Rising Star Bo Nickal While Still President

Donald Trump Wanted to Manage UFC’s Rising Star Bo Nickal While Still PresidentDonald Trump is a big fan of Bo Nickal. Though nothing is official, Nickal fully expects to see the…

Donald Trump Wanted to Manage UFC’s Rising Star Bo Nickal While Still President

Donald Trump is a big fan of Bo Nickal.

Though nothing is official, Nickal fully expects to see the future and future President of the United States sitting ringside when he returns to the Octagon this Saturday in Madison Square Garden. The three-time NCAA Division I national champion will face his toughest test to date at UFC 309 when he meets submission specialist Paul Craig.

Bo Nickal

Over the last few months, Trump has made it a point to bring up his admiration for Nickal in interviews and on social media.

Bo Nickal

Donald Trump wanted to manage Nickal’s career even before he made the move to MMA

As it turns out, the three-time GOP nominee’s love affair with the former Nittany Lion began back in 2019, long before Nickal stepped foot inside a cage.

“It started in 2019, I won the Nationals and got invited to the White House,” Nickal told Uncrowned. “I told him I was gonna fight, he asked me if I needed a manager and he would manage me for the fights. I was like, ‘I think you’re a little too busy.’ So it kinda started there and after my second fight in the UFC, he was in the crowd and invited me to come golf with him at Bedminster so I flew back to New Jersey that week, we golfed together, and since then he kinda likes me for whatever reason, I don’t know, and of course I loved hanging out with him.

“Loved spending time with him and learning and just talking about stuff. So we’ve hung out a bunch since then” (h/t MMA Mania).

Say what you want about Trump’s complete lack of leadership skills or the ability to form a cohesive sentence, but the man knows fighters.

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Maybe once his days of mass deporting immigrants and stripping away the basic human rights of women and trans people are over, he can find himself a new career as a cutthroat MMA manager.

He and Ali Abdelaziz would probably get along very well.

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Bo Nickal Expected To Be Bigger Favorite Than -1000 Over Paul Craig: ‘The People Know Who’s Going To Win’

UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal is no longer shocked to see his pre-fight betting lines reaching four figures on the minus side. Nickal will return for his second assignment of this year at Saturday’s UFC 309 pay-per-view. The Jon Jones-headlined event goes down from inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. […]

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UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal is no longer shocked to see his pre-fight betting lines reaching four figures on the minus side.

Nickal will return for his second assignment of this year at Saturday’s UFC 309 pay-per-view. The Jon Jones-headlined event goes down from inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Having started life on MMA’s biggest stage with three wins to extend his perfect professional record to 6-0, the three-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University is set for a step up in competition.

On this weekend’s main card, the 28-year-old Colorado native will share the cage with a man formerly ranked at both middleweight and light heavyweight in Craig. Despite his credentials and notable wins, not many are giving “Bearjew” a chance of victory.

That includes the oddsmakers, most of whom set Nickal’s opening line close to or above -1000. Currently, the American has climbed to -1200 on DraftKings.

During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Nickal was asked whether he’s shocked to be so heavily favored over a name who boasts wins over the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill.

“No, the odds don’t really surprise me. I actually figured they would be even crazier,” Nickal said. “It’s almost like a mania. Every time I come to fight, I think the people know who is going to win. So it’s all good.”

Nickal will hope to prove that he’s not being overestimated and Craig underestimated come fight night in “The Big Apple” this weekend by dispatching the Scottish veteran in emphatic fashion.

Should he accomplish that feat, the credentialed wrestler would move closer to earning a number next to his name at 185 pounds and being placed in matchups against the elite of the division.

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Bo Nickal Insists He Could Beat Shara Magomedov In ’90 Seconds’

Bo Nickal radiates confidence, asserting he could handle Shara Magomedov with ease if they were ever to meet in the Octagon. Magomedov recently boosted his record to 4-0 in the Octagon and an impressive 15-0 overall, delivering a jaw-dropping double backfist knockout against Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308 last month. View this post on Instagram […]

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Bo Nickal radiates confidence, asserting he could handle Shara Magomedov with ease if they were ever to meet in the Octagon.

Magomedov recently boosted his record to 4-0 in the Octagon and an impressive 15-0 overall, delivering a jaw-dropping double backfist knockout against Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308 last month.

“Bullet’s” distinctive finish has certainly caught Nickal’s attention, yet he believes the undefeated Russian’s style would make for a straightforward challenge.

During a recent episode of the Nickals and Dimes podcast, Nickal exuded confidence in his abilities, stating he could effortlessly dominate Magomedov. Eager to make this matchup happen, he’s even willing to step into enemy territory for the showdown.

“I would like to fight him, but it’s not a tough fight, and I would have to go to Abu Dhabi,” Nickal said. “I would have to go to Saudi (Arabia), which – I would do it, but I think it’s not a tough fight. And also, the UFC probably doesn’t want that right now. Maybe they would. Maybe they don’t give a crap: go over to Saudi, make a quick check, 90 seconds, call it a day, fly back.”

“Bullet” has consistently appeared on Middle Eastern fight cards, as strict regulations from the American Athletic Commission prevent a one-eyed fighter from being cleared to compete in the United States.

Nickal is set to face Paul Craig in a middleweight clash at UFC 309, slated for Nov. 16 at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden. This highly anticipated bout will mark the wrestling sensation’s return to the Octagon following his impressive second-round submission victory over Cody Brundage at UFC 300 this past April.

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Bo Nickal Explains The Hardest Part Of Transitioning To MMA And Which Aspects Came Easy To Him

At UFC 309, Bo Nickal looks to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder by earning just the seventh win of his professional career. It’s not normal for a fighter with this much experience to be competing against a seasoned contender like Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden. Nickal’s highly credentialed […]

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At UFC 309, Bo Nickal looks to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder by earning just the seventh win of his professional career. It’s not normal for a fighter with this much experience to be competing against a seasoned contender like Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden.

Nickal’s highly credentialed wrestling background singled him out as a super prospect from the moment he decided to begin training in MMA. His grappling gives him a huge advantage over many opponents but of course, developing the rest of his skillset is crucial to his success.

That will be put to the test in his fight against Scotland’s Craig who is an incredibly dangerous submission threat, specifically off his back. With Nickal making it clear that he won’t hesitate to test his own jiu-jitsu skills, this might be the first fight where we see him need to utilize his whole arsenal to get the victory.

During a recent podcast interview with Demetrious Johnson on The MightyCast, Nickal spoke about which aspects of the sport have been the easiest to pick up and which have taken him more time to get up to speed with.

“It’s interesting, I picked up jiu-jitsu pretty quick. Obviously still learning, still growing, trying to improve that area of my game but the jiu-jitsu came pretty fast. I always had a wrestling style that I think fit just because I was rolling on my back a lot. Like if I had to roll to my back to give up a couple points or to get the pin or to get some points, I was never afraid to do that and you mentioned earlier like I wrestled predominantly folk style but as a kid, I wrestled tons of freestyle and Greco, almost just as much as I had wrestled folk style and so just those different styles and I think my experience with scrambling and different things like that, I was really comfortable with that.”

Nickal then spoke about the aspect of the sport have been the hardest for him to pick up. Unsurprisingly, it’s an element of his striking that has taken him the most time to get used to given his grappling background.

“The hardest thing for me to learn honestly like kicks. Calf kicks, body kicks, throwing kicks, checking kicks. It’s like such a different thing and you have to be so loose. I noticed like at first when I’m throwing kicks and stuff, I can throw like three or four kicks and I’m gassed out.”

Continue Reading Bo Nickal Explains The Hardest Part Of Transitioning To MMA And Which Aspects Came Easy To Him at MMA News.

Bo Nickal Breaks Down Jones vs. Miocic At UFC 309: ‘When I Look At Jon’s Tools…’

UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal will have a keen eye on the Nov. 16 main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic once his assignment on the night is complete. Nickal is set to feature on the main card of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden next weekend, where the main attraction will be the […]

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UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal will have a keen eye on the Nov. 16 main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic once his assignment on the night is complete.

Nickal is set to feature on the main card of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden next weekend, where the main attraction will be the long-awaited first heavyweight title defense for an all-time great in Jones.

20 months on from his crowning and a year removed from an injury scuppering plans for a showdown with Miocic in New York City last year, “Bones” will make his return for a contest that many are expecting to be his last.

The common consensus appears to be that Jones will get past an aging Miocic who hasn’t competed since falling via knockout to Francis Ngannou in 2021 before hanging up his gloves. Miocic has heard that script and promised something different, vowing to shock the world with his performance.

Nickal, though, doesn’t appear convinced.

During a recent interview with former UFC and ONE Championship titleholder Demetrious Johnson, Nickal backed Jones to get the job done at MSG owing to the wide-ranging “tools” in his arsenal.

He did, however, highlight a potential path to victory for Miocic.

“First of, I love both those guys. They’re awesome, amazing competitors,” Nickal said. “If I had to pick who’s going to win the fight, I would say Jon, just because the long layoff for Stipe. And when I look at Jon’s tools, he’s just got such a diverse ray of attacks — offense and defense.

“I think if this fight were to go Stipe’s way, he would probably have to get Jon tired. But I think that Jon is just so savvy in there,” Nickal continued. “I would say the two smartest guys that I’ve seen fight are probably you (Johnson) and him, guys that I really respect their intelligence and their mind. I think a lot of people don’t talk about that in MMA…the most underrated part of Jon’s game.”

Jones will look to prove Nickal’s prediction right come fight night next weekend, when he headlines a pay-per-view card that also features a highly anticipated rematch between former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.

Elsewhere on the lineup, Nickal himself returns to action opposite Paul Craig and middleweight great Chris Weidman looks to make it two wins from two in 2024 when he faces former American football linebacker Eryk Anders.

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Bo Nickal Says He Won’t Avoid Grappling With Paul Craig To Test His Own Jiu-Jitsu

Bo Nickal is back at UFC 309 where he looks to secure his fourth win inside the Octagon against his toughest opponent to date. The undefeated middleweight super prospect will be making the walk at Madison Square Garden to face off with a fellow specialist at 185-pounds. Whilst Nickal brings a wrestling pedigree to the […]

Continue Reading Bo Nickal Says He Won’t Avoid Grappling With Paul Craig To Test His Own Jiu-Jitsu at MMA News.

Bo Nickal is back at UFC 309 where he looks to secure his fourth win inside the Octagon against his toughest opponent to date. The undefeated middleweight super prospect will be making the walk at Madison Square Garden to face off with a fellow specialist at 185-pounds.

Whilst Nickal brings a wrestling pedigree to the table that very few can match, the same can be said for the jiu-jitsu skills of Scotland’s Paul Craig. Though both men have put a lot of work into rounding out their games, it’s clear that this is where both men excel.

In 26 pro fights, Craig has finished half of them by submission and rather than having an approach like Charles Oliveira for example, many of those wins in the UFC have come off of his back when opponents try to land ground and pound from the top position.

In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on The MightyCast, Nickal spoke about preparing for an opponent that is so dangerous in one specific area. Though he believes he’s been able to adapt to jiu-jitsu very quickly, he’s still very young in his MMA career.

This doesn’t discourage him from wanting to test himself against a dangerous grappler Craig like who has submitted elite fighters in the Octagon in the past. In fact, it’s something that he looks forward to in this fight even though he believes he holds the striking advantage in this match-up.

“I think that I have an advantage on the feet but I also think that it would be nice to be able to show my improvements on the ground in my jiu-jitsu game and to be able to compete against a guy like that and just kind of challenge myself, you know. I think that again, there’s problems that he poses and it’s definitely an unusual maybe unorthodox type of style, you don’t see many guys pulling guard anymore. You don’t see guys throwing up triangles and throwing up armbars but I feel prepared.” 

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