With an undefeated record in mixed martial arts driving his hype on top of three NCAA National Chamionships with Penn State sitting in his trophy case which mark him as one of the best ever, Bo Nickal has been one of the highest profile rising stars in the UFC for a while now.
bo nickal clinched the dual for penn state. here is how he did it. pic.twitter.com/XEE4Pydgnx
— Roar Lions Roar (@RLRblog) February 9, 2019
Yet his steady ascent recently suffered a minor setback at the hands of a peer with his own lofty accolades.
Despite moving into the UFC’s middleweight rankings in November of 2024 after winning his biggest victory to date to the tune of a chorus of boos, the rankings update this week saw the twenty-five year old’s removal from the #15 spot.
His replacement? Former ONE Championship two-weight champion Reinier de Ridder, a grappling ace who has now won his first two UFC fights by submission.
What. A. TRIANGLE 🤯 Reinier de Ridder blew the crowd away with this ICONIC submission of Vitaly Bigdash! 💪#WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ciju6ypRi0
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 29, 2022
Though discussions of the fight taking place at UFC Iowa – a state with a strong appreciation for wrestling – have taken place, the exact date of the fight is still to be determined.
Both athletes may be rising in the UFC rankings at the same time, but ‘The Dutch Knight’ has already enjoyed a fruitful career at thirty-four years old with a 19-2 record and multiple championships, while Nickal’s MMA career is still in its infancy.
‘RDR’ is a finished product and has to worry about Father Time holding him back from a UFC title, while Nickal is still in the process of growing at 25-years-old with a 7-0 record, having only started competing in MMA four years ago after his wrestling career.
Inside the cage, the jiu-jitsu-based skillset of the Dutchman could match up well with the folkstyle wrestling of his American foe to create interesting grappling exchanges.
However in Nickal’s last fight, which came against one-dimensional grappler Paul Craig, he preferred to test his hands rather than his submission defense skills, leading to the first decision win for Bo in MMA, a tepid outing for all involved.
Bo Nickal got boo during the post fight interview:
“They expect me to knock everybody out in 25 seconds or choke them out in a minute.”#UFC309 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/47yIF9sExl
— FEDZ_MMA (@Fedzmma) November 17, 2024
Stand-up is certainly not de Ridder’s primary skillset either, but his striking has improved as well and the chances are that he would fare better in an MMA version of a kickboxing match than Craig, who is a fish out of water on the feet, did.
De Ridder knocks down GM3! #UFCVegas100 pic.twitter.com/m5BYPkPmVw
— Steven Rae (@stevenrae_) November 10, 2024
As this is ostensibly Bo Nickal’s toughest test in mixed martial arts to date, perhaps this time around the Penn State wrestling champion will finally not be a massive betting favorite, as his odds have been greater than 10-1 in every single one of his pro fights, even setting a record for steepest odds in UFC history, twice.
That was something else #ufc290 Bo Nickal with the “oooops, got your nose” pic.twitter.com/njoxPcO1MP
— GYM NASTY 💪🏻 (@gymnasty_world) July 9, 2023
Read the full article here