UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal has revealed a stunning detail about his grappling match with BJJ superstar Gordon Ryan: he only trained jiu-jitsu three times before stepping onto the mat with one of the sport’s greatest practitioners.
Speaking on the Mighty Mouse podcast, Nickal explained how the impromptu match came about through a simple DM after Ryan’s opponents kept dropping out. “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.”
Faced with the prospect of competing against the BJJ legend, Nickal made what might be considered a modest preparation: “I was like alright well I better start practicing Jiu-Jitsu so I did three Jiu-Jitsu [sessions].”
The Olympic wrestling hopeful turned MMA star acknowledged the boldness—and perhaps naivety—of this approach. “For me, that was honestly bittersweet,” Nickal reflected. “I wanted to go in there and s hock the world and win and just rep wrestling and be like ‘see the Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t work.’ But it also taught me how much I do need to work on that part of my game and how important it is.”
Despite this early learning experience, Nickal has since found remarkable success in MMA, compiling a perfect 4-0 professional record with all wins coming by stoppage. His next challenge comes against veteran submission specialist Paul Craig at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden on November 16th.
Speaking about the upcoming Craig event, Nickal sees it as an opportunity to showcase his evolving 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 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 to MMA has been marked by continuous adaptation. The former Penn State wrestling standout revealed that the biggest challenge in his transition wasn’t actually the grappling aspects, but rather the striking elements—particularly kicks. “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 to MMA might be attributed to his diverse athletic background. Despite wrestling from age 5, Nickal never experienced burnout, thanks to his father’s balanced approach of encouraging participation in multiple sports. “I did a bunch of sports growing up. I played football, baseball, ran track,” Nickal said. “My father 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.”
Looking ahead, Nickal’s ambitions extend beyond his current success. With characteristic confidence, he’s already thinking about championship glory: “This is just a step on the path for me. I’m not training for this fight specifically—I’m really just training for my fifth, sixth, seventh title defense.”
The rising star has even contemplated his post-MMA career, expressing interest in returning to pure grappling competitions: “I’ll probably start competing in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments because I love it and it’s so fun for me.” Given his rapid progression from those initial three jiu-jitsu sessions to his current status as one of MMA’s most promising prospects, it would be unwise to bet against his success in any grappling endeavor he pursues.
