In a compelling display of resilience and skill, Bo Nickal secured a victory against Cody Brundage by second-round submission at UFC 300.
Despite his dominant performance, Nickal, a promising unranked middleweight, expressed dissatisfaction with his showing in the octagon. Following the fight, a conversation with Dana White, the UFC President and CEO, helped boost his morale.
During an interview on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, Nickal shared insights about the encouraging exchange he had with White.
“Obviously, the emotions were running high so I was like, ‘I’m sorry, man, I wanted to put a better performance on’. It was what it was and he was just basically [telling] me that like I did amazing and he said that – it was actually crazy because I saw him walk over to where we exit the octagon and I was like what’s he doing over there?
And I’ve never seen him do that before where he just kind of greeted me after the fight.” Nickal felt uplifted as White conveyed his high expectations for Nickal’s future, asserting, “And he told me that I’m going to be one of the biggest stars this sport has ever seen and to keep doing what I’m doing and to basically just not let any of that stuff affect me and just keep grinding.”
Despite the victory, Nickal faced moments of disapproval from the audience, marking the first time in his MMA career that he heard boos and that an opponent survived beyond the first round. Nevertheless, he managed to maintain his unbeaten record, moving to 6-0.
Bo Nickal Considers Potential UFC 303 Appearance Following Encouragement from Michael Chandler
In another development, Nickal revealed on his podcast “Nickals and Dimes” that Michael Chandler, another NCAA All-American wrestler, reached out to him with words of support and an intriguing proposal. Chandler, gearing up for a June comeback against Conor McGregor, suggested Nickal join the same card.
“Michael Chandler DM’d me after the fight. He was like, ‘it’s easy to be critical, but you’re the one that steps in there and there’s a lot to be said for that’. And he was like, ‘yo, hop on the card, June 29th, let’s get it’. And I was like, ‘oh!’ That would be sick. That would be sick, dude, to fight on that card. I kind of almost have to.”
Michael Chandler DM’d Bo Nickal to “hop on the [UFC 303] card” 😳 pic.twitter.com/In8bpqrVe4
— betr (@betr) April 17, 2024
While it’s still uncertain if Nickal will be added to the lineup at UFC 303, his consideration for such a high-profile event reflects his rising status within the sport. Currently, the card for June 29 features McGregor versus Chandler as the main event, along with four preliminary bouts.
