https://youtube.com/watch?v=dI4EoLtdoeE
Middleweight prospect, Bo Nickal stepped into Dana White’s Contender Series with one professional MMA fight on his record but …
[Music] excited about the fight Dad yeah I’m always excited to watch you compete it’s an honor to watching this journey unfold it’s pretty cool but this is a lifetime of work you know somebody’s been doing since he could crawl probably I’m sure he’s ready no doubt my name is Beau Nichol I’m a middleweight and I’m from State College Pennsylvania this is my second Pro fight I would say the the atmosphere is definitely like a little more intense but I’m ready I don’t know about these guys I’m a little nervous you’re nervous as long as he makes it fast he’ll help me feel a lot better I will thank you here with me for my flight I got all my boys all my best friends and I love having a big group with me my squad I just like to be surrounded with people that I trust and love and it really puts me in a the right frame of mind alright guys well it’s about that time so let’s get ready to scrap the beat goes oh [Music] I think just arriving in a minivan that’s just kind of to have the crew together right like we can’t fit eight people in a in a Ferrari or anything like that so we’re gonna for me it’s more important to just keep the squad together have the Positive Vibes and have as many people with me as many as of my brothers with me as possible and so yeah I guess maybe uh someday we’ll upgrade the minivan to like a Suburban or something but for now the minivan works well yeah I’m getting my first fight on Contender Series so you know for Me overall it’s just a lot of gratitude and excitement so it’s one step closer to his dream and goal of someday being the number one guy in the world he’s on a quest for that now a three-time national champion transition MMA full time after the Olympic trials in 2021. it’s hard to overstate the amount of excitement surrounding this young fighter I definitely feel like there’s a lot of attention and expectations on me coming into the fight but for me that’s exciting and I want that let’s do it [Music] waiting behind the doors when the people are counting down it’s just such a a rush as soon as they open the doors like I feel very calm it’s almost like all the nerves go away right in that moment and here he is making his Contender series debut just the second professional MMA nickel I don’t have to think anymore I’m just gonna go out there and fight wrestling is so tough just to make it to a decent level is incredibly hard to achieve what he has I mean this man has a bright future right before the fight starts I really don’t have anything going on in my mind I’m just keeping everything simple and do what you know how to do the anticipation has been palpable here at the Apex he comes in a little aggressive so you know in my mind I’m thinking he’s desperate he wants to land something big he throws a flying knee I shoot take him down immediately as soon as I take him down I’m going for ground and pound trying to land big shots I hear Mike in the corner just yelling be patient be patient almost no resistance but Borrego works by two speed gotta watch the neck I have a guillotine teen night but I don’t want to jump the guillotine because I don’t want to risk going on bottom the submission skills so I just pull him down spin behind once I spin behind him I’m in full control just trying to tie up his wrists at this point keep control of him once I tied up his left wrist with my left wrist then my right hand I can sink the choke throw the leg in from there it’s just a formality so I locked the choke in and yeah fights over easy win no damage just how we like it for the winner by submission due to rear naked show oh nickel I didn’t feel like I did anything super spectacular I just did what I needed to do Brock Lesnar signed with the UFC after one professional fight he became the heavyweight champion of the world Kane Velasquez signed with two professional fights he became one of the best heavyweights that the UFC has ever seen you want to show him in there right now go ahead I think you’ll do fine whichever way he does Laura sanco why don’t you ask him what he wants you train with some of the best in the world down at ATT and you’re now 2-0 but the question is are you right in your sense are you ready to enter the middleweight division in the UFC give me that contract all right listen it doesn’t matter who you are my wrestling is a hundred times what any of these guys could uh put up with and I’ll take them down submit them ground upon them and at the end of the day um none of these dudes can hang with me so I’m ready to be in the UFC absolutely Bowie did exactly what we thought you would do you remain undefeated congratulations on an excellent performance we will see if I will be talking to you again thank you so much at this point with a finish in about a minute there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m gonna get the contract tonight I mean Bo nickel I mean he’s doing out coming into the UFC so what we’d like to do is offer Bo another fight here in the contender series he wins that one give him a shot in the UFC congratulations Bo nickel during the I’m not going to get the contract tonight but they want me to fight again I’m instantly feeling grateful there was no moment of disappointment that’s uh great for me because you know I want to fight as much as possible and I want to fight tough guys and continue to build my experience and build my reputation [Music] being back on Contender series feels very comfortable I feel like I know all the processes how everything goes and I’m very well prepared for this fight so I would say relative to the first fight I’m much more relaxed and much more confident because you know they’re less and less unknowns the less unknowns the more confident I’m going to be and so I feel like this fight I’m just excited to perform and to do what I know how to do [Music] being behind the doors again it feels comfortable it feels like home just like last time let’s go I hear him count down three two one boom and here’s Bo nickel 2-0 I’m very calm almost Serene and peaceful and just ready to do my thing [Music] first round go Nickel in the red Donovan beard in the blue no glove touch right to business so when the fight starts he’s not coming out aggressive now I’m just seeing how he’s reacting to my different faints and movements I kind of faint my way in straight left land around his chin and drop him oh my God he’s on the neck already and mount he loses the neck but he’s in big Mount here when he goes down wanting to finish right away so I’m a little over anxious is it triangle threat threat from nickel it’s also got the arm I don’t know how tight I have it I have never finished a triangle in a real fight I’ve done in training tons of times I’m just squeezing waiting waiting for him to tap but then I realized that I’m holding both his hands so he can’t tap so I let go inside at this time and this time I’m pretty hyped I’m pretty excited second fight on contenders and I know like they can’t deny me anymore so I go right up to Dana I’m like you like that how fast was that it was inside of 60 seconds then it’s time to celebrate with my family so run right over the fence jump on the fence and just so excited to see them because those are my people it’s it’s cool to win but it’s even cooler to win together for the winner by submission due to triangle choke hearing my name announced as the winner is a great feeling it’s just you know a little cherry on top all the hard work [Music] [Applause] me and a lot of other people are excited to see the future that this kid has welcome to the UFC brother Bo nickel welcome to the UFC here in Dana you know praise me hide me up is it’s a good feeling it just makes me want to continue to work harder and keep improving and do everything I need to do to get to the top this guy says his wrestling is 10 times 100 times better than anything he sees in the top 10 of the UFC middleweight division major confidence then why wouldn’t he happen I really value the collective group and you know when I went I feel like everybody wins and that’s kind of what I focus on afterwards be in the UFC is a great stepping stone onto you know me reaching my goals and I’m getting closer and closer to where I want to be and That’s all folks [Music] I train out of American top team Happy Valley in State College PA [Music] this is the gym [Music] all set up the ultimate goal with American top team Happy Valley is to kind of integrate the Penn State wrestling world with the MMA world you know we have me kind of trailblazing this path and I’m the first one to do it so learning a lot making mistakes making Corrections and by the time you know I go through my career we’ll have a clear path set up for all these super high level wrestlers to transition over into MMA when you touch your first goal so my main coaches at ATC Happy Valley are Marcel Ferrera currently he’s black belt and Jiu Jitsu multiple time world champion he’s been training me helping me learn all the ins and outs of BJJ and so you know that’s been very fun and I’m very grateful to work with him my relationship with boys to help him on the ground as much as he can to be his Jiu-Jitsu coach it’s really easy to work with him yeah he learns everything quick so I think he will submit a lot of people in the UFC right here yeah that’s it striking wise I work with my boxing coach Musa also umani who he’s a fighter as well but grew up boxing in Philly had a ton of uh boxing fights he was a Collegiate national champion and so you know he helps with the Striking uh you know fighting his Contender series and come out with his uh with the contract it really made us proud as a as a family and as a team you know we’re just excited to see him progress through his career and this is just another step and they you’re punching more so yeah all right guys all good [Music] I spent a lot of time in the Penn State wrestling room now I’m there you know almost every day I feel like my role has changed a lot you know when I was competing in wrestling I was just focusing on being the best wrestler I could be but I feel like my role has shifted more into uh mentoring coaching role with the college guys that’s a role I really enjoy you know I know there was a lot of people that kind of took that role on for me when I was in school I’m really there for those guys to help them work help them get better improve and achieve their goals nice get in there brother wrestling training there is better than anywhere else in the world you know it helps me stay sharp as well and continue to improve and just perfect my craft I’m gonna smoke somebody right here [Music] [Applause] it’s got a quick warm-up in we usually warm up with the game dodgeball so keeps it fun light a little competitive but uh yeah we just have a good time in here so we got the whole College Squad maybe some post-grads guys and some high school kids all going to be training together today and yeah it’ll be a good practice [Applause] I was recruited by a lot of schools come out of high school when I visited Penn State there was an immediate strong connection so we got a bunch of my teammates and myself I was able to win three national titles 2017 2018 2019 yeah so this is my Hutch trophy uh one in 2019 and it’s nice to kind of have it displayed here just because you know I’d spent so many hours here and so much time training and there’s I just you know can’t think of the Penn State program enough for like how much they supported me and poured into me and very grateful to be a part of part of this program head coach at Penn State’s kale Sanderson legendary wrestler for me growing up he was a guy that I looked up to what’s up guys certainly has has everything he needs to be successful and he was very unique here I mean he might be we’ve had some really outstanding wrestlers at Penn State and he’s uh he’s at the top of the you know the pack for sure so he can definitely do it at the at the next level [Music] it’s the most important thing we sit on the mats all the time and just chat you know generally it’s about just life for the team or you know something that’s going on specifically with with me with fighting and stuff like that and you know I love picking his brain it feels pretty cool that you know he wants to hear my perspective on things and of course like I said I want to hear his [Music] being back in another icon event and having the opportunity to Corner some of my teammates is really cool [Music] my first professional MMA fight was at Icon 3 in Richmond Virginia [Applause] [Music] [Applause] going out into that fight and knocking that guy out just cleaning off his feet it felt unreal I’ll say this the wrestling equivalent to a knockout is a pin and it was definitely a way better feeling than a pin [Music] let’s get it I’m cornering Anthony casar and Musa asulamani two of my main training partners and really us three we’re the first three Fighters out of ATT Happy Valley I got something I wrote for you guys you guys can sit or whatever these guys are so important to me and I just wrote some thoughts down in some different things that I wanted to share with them going into battle physically this war is a solitary one only you can make that walk and face what you have to face but know this in spirit and in energy You Are Not Alone they had been there for me I just felt like uh I kind of wanted to give them a little extra motivation and most of all just let them know I love them and I’m there for them and that I got their backs no matter what every one of your friends family and loved ones will be inside the cage with you tonight all of your coaches are there with you I’m in there with you God is in there with you let’s go to war love you guys [Music] is Anthony casar in his Pro MMA debut let’s do it all right go get him Anthony it’s definitely a different feeling when you’re cornering versus fighting you know I feel like when I’m cornering I’m way more nervous just because I have less control over the outcome jump knee there for the Grumpy Bear I want these guys to win so bad but I can’t really do much be patient be patient Anthony’s fight man there’s not very many uh situations where I’ve been more nervous right hand by the wrestler down he had shoulder surgery a couple years ago and has spent a long time and a lot of work coming back hey pass the guard use your legs pass the guard now steps over to mount trying to get to that [Music] serious trouble now for him to be where he’s at submitted the guy first round took no damage all right I was just so happy for him and so proud of him you freaking hit him it’s hard dude yeah bro you crushed him first round finished part one part two baby part two the crowd is hyped for this one happy valleys former Nittany Lion suleimani Moose’s fight it was a tough one beautiful combination yeah put your jab on him [Music] [Applause] you see your boy out there like getting hit this and that and like you just want him to win so bad and so you know I think I was a little emotional about it you got one man he needs to do something very stating obviously you can go the way we wanted it to and uh you know I don’t think we prepared as well as we should after that fight and I think part of that you know I’m to blame because I didn’t do enough research on the opponent [Music] when I look back on the flight I’m mostly just proud of how my guy competed because he showed so much hard out there he has no quit in him he did good man it’s we just know we need to do better now that’s it proud of you if one of us loses it’s like we all lose so it hurts um and I’m of course went out there so it is what it is back to the drawing board [Music] [Music] I also spend a good amount of time training down at American top team in Coconut Creek when I graduated school in 2019 I had a lot of agents and managers reaching out to me makakawa with first round management he DM me a few times I saw that he managed Jorge miles and got on the phone with him he said yo let’s fly you down to Miami I can introduce you to the guys at American top team and mods of it all he’s fighting a lot of wrestlers so you can help train him too [Music] foreign UFC 251 and kind of help him prep for that fight that was crazy it was a real Whirlwind of an experience just getting to kind of be part of my first UFC event I was just very exciting and eye-opening as soon as I started training with mozville I knew that for sure this was for me just learning all the different techniques just kind of getting a little taste of that really motivated me a lot been a fan of bows since his freshman year in college I actually got to see him compete live Madison Square Garden and since then I’ve been a fan and watched his whole Collegiate wrestling career so when I was going to train with well I already knew very well to the detail who this guy was and what he had done you know [Music] definitely learn from just basic standard wrestling positions very fundamental resting stuff you know then he also showed me some scrambles so good in the rest of the department so Advanced he was able to control me hold me down he was already going for submissions it’s uh it’s impressive to see his Evolution but I think both morning ready you know and I’m telling you both could be that guy that could be a standout of world champion [Music] today’s my birthday yeah we’re going to Chima to celebrate it’s a Brazilian steakhouse my absolute favorite they knocked out the park every time you know obviously Brazilian steakhouse they got tons of steaks definitely not a better place on Earth to spend my birthday oh my boy how are we doing bro here we are man [Music] Bo how old are you 27. well what was your favorite birthday I don’t want to say what is your favorite birthday dinner because I know that this is a little bit better than how I used to it I think most of the time your birthday dinners were um not eating because you’re in a tournament my birthday is always a weird thing growing up I was always wrestling on my birthday so it wasn’t like a big celebration we never really did a big thing maybe we did a one special meal or something so I kind of just like to keep it that way thanks to uh everybody for coming out you know I couldn’t have uh picked a better crew to spend my birthday with so I seriously appreciate each and every one of y’all you have done a lot for me and uh and I’m excited uh just so excited and grateful that you guys are part of my life so yeah happy birthday thank you I think the older I get the more I value those type of relationships family close friends um and have their support and it feels good being around good people being around people that that I love [Music] but really what you’ve done with your life and you know are responsible and um but yeah Dad and I are very proud of you for sure and we’re glad we got to uh spend your birthday with you yeah I can’t wait for you to start pools you always want to make your parents proud and have that confirmation and to hear those type of things it just it encourages me a lot I want to achieve these huge things in MMA and I have these crazy goals that are so big and so wild but and a lot of times you know I think of those as like the most important things but really you know when I sit down and break it down and kind of slow things down the most important things to me are family and loved ones so yeah I guess that’s what’s most important to me but now that you’re 27 you can get off our phone plan my bad my bad [Music] yeah you know I’m a beast you know I’m a beast good times we don’t know the feet you know I’m a beast I’m so excited to make my UFC debut I’ll be fighting March 4th at UFC 285 and T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas Nevada I’m on the main card with Jon Jones so I feel grateful I feel excited [Music] my opponent Jamie Pickett is definitely a nice Step Up in competition for me and I’m making sure that every single T is crossed and eyes dotted and I get to go out there and perform I think it’s in my blood it’s in my DNA and that’s what I live for so let’s do it everybody [Music]