Bo Nickal’s debut highlights Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series

After UFC president Dana White voiced his displeasure with the fighters at the end of Week 1, Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series delivered in a major way.

Last week’s episode may go down as one of the best episodes in the history of the Contender Series — in Week 2, all five winners earned contracts. Four out of the five fights last week ended via knockout.

The night was punctuated by comeback wins for Chris Duncan and Billy Goff. In the main event, Duncan was knocked down by his opponent Charlie Campbell with an uppercut. Duncan appeared to be knocking off the cobwebs as he returned to his feet early in the first round. Duncan then landed a drive to the midsection of Campbell that would serve as the knockout blow.

In his Week 2 press conference, Dana White was extremely enthusiastic about the show. White said “you know this to be true, if you are a fight fan, you are out of your mind if you’re not watching the Contender Series on Tuesday night. If you are a degenerate gambler, you are out of your mind not to watch the Contender Series on Tuesday night. When you put on boxing fights the guy who’s favored to win always wins right? A 3 to 1 dog won tonight. I mean anything can happen in these fights they’re exciting, they’re fun they’re fast paced. There’s no filler or fluff, we just roll right through and have great fights. If you are a fight fan or a gambler, this is the show to watch on Tuesday night.”

As great as week two was, most casual fans have had Aug. 9 and Week 3 circled on their calendars for months. Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series is headlined by the arrival of one of the most decorated collegiate wrestlers of all-time, Penn State’s Bo Nickal. During his time in Happy Valley, Nickal was dominant in the 184-pound weight class, compiling a 120-3 career record with 59 pins. Nickal was unbelievable on the biggest stage in collegiate wrestling, going 19-1 in the NCAA tournament including three consecutive national championships from 2017-19.

Along with the national championship in 2019, Nickal was also awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy, the wrestling equivalent of college football’s Heisman Trophy. After a remarkably successful career in wrestling, Nickal transitioned to mixed martial arts, joining American Top Team. Nickal then partnered with American Top Team to open his own branch team, Happy Valley. With a branch right near the Penn State campus, the Penn State-American Top Team pipeline may continue for years to come.

Nickal began mixed martial arts journey with two amateur wins in a promotion called Island Fights. In early June of this year, Nickal made his professional debut fighting in Jorge Masvidal’s Ikon fighting championship. Nickal is teammates with Masvidal. In his professional debut, Nickal made a splash with a knockout victory over John Noland.

Although some question Nickal’s call-up to the contender after just one professional fight, Nickal’s elite wrestling base will give him a fighting chance. Although the move by the UFC was rare, many believe it was warranted. Giving a fighter an opportunity after only a handful of professional fights has happened very few times in modern UFC history, including with Brock Lesnar, former all-pro defensive lineman Greg Hardy and professional wrestler CM Punk.

When asked by MMA Junkie about the opportunity to fight on the contender series, Nickal said “that’s always been the goal for me, the dream for me, and I’m just excited to kind of start this off with Dana White’s Contender Series and just have my first taste of what it’s like to be a fighter in the UFC.”

Wrestling is a cornerstone of mixed martial arts. Knowing how to wrestle allows a fighter to be able to control most grappling situations. Wrestlers have always been the most successful fighters in the UFC, past and present. In the beginning, wrestlers like Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman were successful. Recently, the roster is stocked full of successful fighters with a wrestling background. The list includes names like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Kamaru Usman, Curtis Blaydes and Carla Esparza.

Nickal begins his quest to become one of the UFC’s greats in a difficult matchup with 4-0 Zachary Borrego out of San Antonio. The action begins Tuesday, August 9 at 8 p.m. on ESPN plus.

Season 6, Week 3 Dana White’s Contender Series full card:

Middleweight-main event: 1-0 Bo Nickal versus 4-0 Zachary Borrego

Heavyweight-Co-main: Event 10-1 Paulo Renato Jr. versus 8-3 Jamal Pogues

Featherweight: 8-1 Erick Silva versus 3-0 Anvar boynazarov

Flyweight: 5-0 Clayton Carpenter versus 8-3 Edgar Chairez

Strawweight: 10-2 Sandra Lavado versus 8-2 Karolina Wojcik

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen