Bo Nickal Surrounded by Hype, Scrutiny Ahead of Octagon Debut at UFC 285

Former three-time collegiate wrestling national champion will face Jamie Pickett at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

While the bulk of this week’s UFC 285 prefight talk has been centered on the heavily anticipated Octagon return of all-time great Jon Jones, the card also features the promotional debut of a man who believes his future holds similar accolades: Bo Nickal.

“My goals are always the most, like, almost unattainable, unreachable, highest type of goals you can achieve,” Nickal said at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “Going into college, it was to be a four-time, undefeated national champion, and now going into MMA, I want to be the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world, and so I definitely envision myself getting to this point.”

Nickal didn’t quite achieve those dreams in his college wrestling career, but he came awfully close, earning three national championships and one runner-up finish during his run at Penn State, amassing an astounding record of 135–5 along the way. His senior year, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s best wrestler.

But while Nickal proved his worth as a standout wrestler, he also grew up as a fan of mixed martial arts. As he weighed what his ultimate future might hold, Nickal had a revelation.

“I always loved fighting,” Nickal said. “I would watch all the events and mess around with my friends and fight and stuff as a kid, so I always loved fighting. I would say the first time that I was sure I wanted to fight was probably halfway through my college wrestling career. I was kind of deciding, ‘Am I going to just wrestle or am I going to fight?’ Then I was doing a camp and had some jiujitsu guys that were like, ‘Yo, you want to roll with us?’ and basically like ten of them rotated in on me for like an hour, and I was like, ‘This is really fun. I definitely want to learn more about this, and I definitely want to fight.’”

Following his collegiate wrestling career, Nickal joined up with one of MMA’s top academies, American Top Team, to hone his skills, and he even opened up a branch of the famed school in Happy Valley, Pa.—less than 15 minutes from the Penn State campus.

Given his astounding athletic pedigree, Nickal elected to skip the amateur MMA ranks, instead making his professional debut in June 2022. The wrestling standout flashed newfound striking skills, earning a knockout win in just 33 seconds.

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Two months later, Nickal found himself competing in front of UFC brass, battling for a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. He needed just 62 seconds to score a submission win. That night, White acknowledged Nickal’s skills but didn’t give him a deal, instead inviting the prospect to return seven weeks later and prove the performance was no fluke.

It wasn’t. Nickal needed just 52 seconds to move to 3–0.

On Saturday, just nine months after turning pro and with less than a one-half round of professional fighting experience, Nickal makes his promotional debut in the main-card opening bout of UFC 285, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (10 p.m. ET) from T-Mobile Arena.

The 27-year-old Nickal (3–0 MMA, 0–0 UFC) faces fellow middleweight Jamie Pickett (13–8 MMA, 2–4 UFC) in what is clearly one the most anticipated debut appearances in UFC history.

“I’m just really excited,” Nickal told MMA Underground. “Obviously a big opportunity for me being on this card, being on the main card. Very cool. I’m just excited, overall—excited and grateful.”

Despite the buzz surrounding Nickal’s potential, his debut isn’t coming without some controversy. “Hype train” is a term being floated about. Why is he being given this massive spotlight, fans ask, when a battle between top-10 contenders in the same division, Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis, has been relegated to the night’s prelims?

Nickal is aware of those concerns, but points out that card placement is clearly not up to him—though he would probably make the same choice if given the chance.

“It’s kind of a funny question because it’s not really my decision,” Nickal said. “I’m not the one that makes that call, but obviously the UFC thought that it was the right move—and you know, personally, if it does come to my opinion, I think it’s the right move, too.

“I think there’s a lot of people that want to watch me, a lot of people that want to see how I fare, and I think it makes sense. Obviously [UFC officials] agreed with that, and if other people disagree, then, you know, it’s not really up to you, either.”

Is Nickal among the most gifted athletes to ever set foot in the UFC? Or is he being placed into an impossible situation, expected to perform at MMA’s highest level while still learning the sport on the fly?

That answer could come as soon as Saturday night.

“It’s already been a lot faster than I anticipated,” Nickal said. “I expected to have quite a few more fights before getting to this point. Obviously, there are different plans in store for me, and I’m just riding with it.

“I like to fight an exciting style and make sure that I put on a good show for the fans, but for me, really success is just being the best version of myself and performing to the best of my ability, so regardless of whether I finish him in a minute or win a decision in 15, I think as long as I perform the best and I feel like I gave 100 percent, then that’s a win in my book.”