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Highly-rated wrestler Bo Nickal recently stated that he was surprised to be offered the chance to fight in the upcoming season of Dana White's Contender Series. Nickal is still an MMA novice, but had a very successful wrestling career.
While speaking with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, the 26-year-old stated that he was "somewhat surprised" with how early the call-up to the UFC has come:
"I guess I was somewhat surprised, but after I knocked the dude out and just showed off my striking, I thought that was a possibility. You know, obviously I've had every other organization, they've been calling me for a year already. So to have the UFC kinda come in at this point, still early in my career, was really cool, really exciting."
Watch the full interview below:
Bo Nickal went on to say that he did explore other options with MMA organizations, but the wrestler want's to become the number one pound-for-pound fighter, something he thinks is only possible by joining the UFC.
The 26-year-old is currently scheduled to fight Zachary Borrego on DWCS, but wants to stay active and is open to fighting multiple times before officially signing a UFC contract.
Nickal is moving quickly into the world of MMA after achieving a high-school wrestling record of 183–7, which helped him become the ninth-ranked wrestler in the United States' pound-for-pound rankings.
How many MMA fights has Bo Nickal competed in?
As mentioned, Bo Nickal is still very much a novice in the MMA scene, competing in just three MMA bouts. The wrestler has two amateur fights and one professional bout on his record.
Nickal has won all three outings, beating David Conley, Billy Goode and John Noland, all in the first round. These results have earned the 26-year-old a spot in Dana White's Contender Series this year.
Nickal will take on the much more experienced Borrego as he looks to secure a place on MMA's biggest stage. Borrego is only 3-0 in his professional MMA career, but had six amateur bouts before turning pro.
With that said, this will be the toughest test of Nickal's short career and could prove to be a turning point for the rest of his MMA life.
