UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, despite his relative newness to submission grappling, has revealed plans to continue competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments even after his MMA career concludes. This ambitious goal becomes even more intriguing given his infamous first foray into high-level jiu-jitsu competition.
In what has become a memorable story in grappling circles, Nickal once faced BJJ legend Gordon Ryan after only three jiu-jitsu training sessions. The match came about through a simple direct message after Ryan’s original opponents withdrew. “I just dm’d him I was like ‘hey bro, like I don’t know what the issue is why nobody will go against you but like Count Me In man,'” Nickal recalled. “I’ll do it like tell the promoter to hit me up.”
That early experience, while humbling, seems to have sparked a lasting interest in the gentle art. Speaking on the Mighty Mouse podcast, Nickal expressed his future aspirations: “I’m gonna go till I feel like I’ve done what I needed to do in this Sport and then we’ll move on and I’ll probably do the same thing as you, I’ll start competing in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments because I love it and it’s so fun for me.”
This long-term vision comes as Nickal continues to evolve as a complete martial artist. Currently sporting a perfect 4-0 professional record with all wins by stoppage, he’s preparing for his toughest test yet against submission specialist Paul Craig at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden.
The matchup with Craig offers Nickal a chance to showcase his developing ground game. “Paul Craig’s a guy that poses a lot of problems. He’s finished some of the best guys in the world,” Nickal noted. “I think that I have an advantage on the feet but it would be nice to be able to show my improvements on the ground in my Jiu-Jitsu game.”
Nickal’s journey from wrestling to MMA has required significant adaptation. The former Penn State wrestling standout revealed that while grappling came naturally, the striking aspects—particularly kicks—presented the biggest challenge. “The hardest thing for me to learn is honestly like kicks, calf kicks, body kicks, throwing kicks, checking kicks,” he explained. “When I first started throwing kicks, I could throw like three or four kicks and I’m gassed out.”
His successful transition might be attributed to the diverse athletic foundation laid in his youth. Despite wrestling from age 5, Nickal’s father ensured he never specialized too early. “I did a bunch of sports growing up. I played football, baseball, ran track,” Nickal said. “He kind of actually made me take breaks periodically from wrestling. Up until I was 16 years old, there were a lot of other sports and things that I was doing.”
This well-rounded approach to athletics has shaped his perspective on training and development in MMA. “I think that’s a big thing that I’m noticing with MMA,” Nickal observed. “There’s a lot of people that are so talented, just incredible athletes, but I don’t think a lot of people are willing to be disciplined and make the sacrifices that you just see everybody doing in wrestling.”
His wrestling mentality of constant improvement and disciplined training has carried over into his approach to MMA and jiu-jitsu. While his immediate focus remains on climbing the UFC rankings—he’s already thinking about “fifth, sixth, seventh title defenses”—his interest in continuing to compete in grappling after MMA speaks to his warrior spirit.
