Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal set for MMA debut

Penn State wrestling has proven to be somewhat of a factory for it’s wrestlers to go from campus to a cage and fight in mixed martial arts. Former Nittany Lions such as Ed Ruth, most recently Cody Law, and most notably Phil Davis have helped establish that lineage for the program.

Phil Davis proved to be the best of the bunch and eventually earned a world championship, and now Bo Nickal is starting a journey in hopes of doing the same.

Nickal announced on his Twitter account he will be making his MMA debut on June 3 in a middleweight bout.

Before deciding to make this sports leap, Bo Nickal of course earned his stripes in the Bryce Jordan Center first. While on the Cael Sanderson led team he was a three-time national champion and three-time Big Ten champion. He of course won a national championship, as most Penn State wrestlers tend to these days, and even earned a world championship in 2019, He finished college with a 120-3 record nd will go down as one of the best to ever touch a matt in State College, Pennsylvania.

Nickal is only 26 which is still relatively young to be starting an MMA career. It is different from boxing where they start at such a young age, for Nickal his wrestling background is his early start.

He will be making his professional debut on June 3rd at the Greater Richmond Convention Center under UFC fighter’s Jorge Masvidal promotion. Masvidal’s promotion has served as a feeder league for the UFC as his relationship with the company has been very good over the years. With a couple of quick wins and impressive fights under the promotion, he could find himself on the sports main stage sooner rather than later.

For now though, he will be taking on a fellow debutant in John Noland who is much older than him, 36, and has a 6-3 record as an amateur. It goes without saying that Nickal is heavily favored in the matchup and you can catch his fight live on UFC Fight Pass.