As a three-time NCAA champion, Bo Nickal was always going to have high expectations placed on him whenever he made his MMA debut. As legendary wrestler Dan Gable has said, MMA is a heck of a lot tougher both on the body and on the mind than wrestling is and many excellent wrestlers have had not been able to make good on their talent when strikes get added into the mix. Regardless, Nickal is not just an excellent wrestler as he’s often regarded as one of the top talents of his generation and he’s already shown himself more than willing to step outside his comfort zone by taking on Gordon Ryan in a hybrid rules match for Third Coast Grappling.
Since then, Nickal has been working on his skills by adding Jiu-Jitsu to his training regime and learning how to finish the fight once it gets to the ground, something that would complement his existing skillset greatly. Of course he will also be working on his striking at the same time, but even Olympic wrestler and former Bellator and ONE FC world champion Ben Askren has recognized that BJJ is one of the greatest assets that a skilled wrestler can have because it allows them to finish fights rather than just control them.
After working hard for quite some time, Nickal made his amateur MMA debut against David Conley, a fellow neophyte with a 1-0 amateur record so far. He didn’t actually get much chance to showcase his striking because the fight was over in the first round, not long after he took Conley down. Nickal mounted him almost immediately, raining down some heavy ground and pound before locking up the arm-triangle choke and squeezing until Conley slipped into unconsciousness to register his first win in MMA.
The full event replay featuring the MMA debut of Bo Nickal against David Conley will be available to watch via PPV on FITE TV, click here to watch.
