Age, Biography, and Wiki
Bo Dean Nickal, born on January 14, 1996, is a celebrated American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. Nickal's early life involved moving between several locations, including Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Texas. He began wrestling at the age of five or six in Wyoming and quickly demonstrated his prowess in the sport.
As a high school wrestler, Nickal attended Allen High School in Texas, where he became a three-time Texas state champion. His impressive record included 183 wins out of 190 matches, with 131 victories by pin. Following his high school career, Nickal committed to Penn State University, where he achieved significant success, helping the Nittany Lions win four team titles and earning three NCAA championships.
| Occupation | Player |
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| Date of Birth | 14 January 1996 |
| Age | 29 Years |
| Birth Place | Rifle, Colorado, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Nickal stands at 6 feet 1 inch tall and competes in the 185-pound division in mixed martial arts.
As a redshirt senior, Nickal moved up once again to 197 pounds. At this new weight class, he comfortably won the Big Ten Conference Championship for the second time consecutively and third time overall. At his last NCAA tournament, he dominated all three matches to get to the final, pinning his first two opponents and getting a major in the semifinals. In the finals, Nickal defeated the second seeded Kollin Moore by points (5-1) to claim the NCAA title, becoming one of the four Penn State wrestlers to win three NCAA National Championships and the third one (along with David Taylor and Jason Nolf) to be a four-time NCAA Finalist. At the end of the season, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as nation's best college wrestler and the Schalles Award (for the second time consecutively) as US' top pinner. He was also named 2019 Co-Big Ten wrestler of the Year, Penn State Male Athlete of the Year, and Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year.
Once his final run in collegiate wrestling was over, Nickal immediately turned his focus solely to freestyle. Going back to the style after two years, Nickal competed at the US Open, bulking up to 92 kilograms instead of going down to 86 kilos due to teammate David Taylor being the returning World Champion in the weight class. He walked through his competition, stopping five opponents (three by technical fall and two by fall) and earning the championship.
As a 2019 U23 World Champion, Nickal qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials. He was scheduled to compete at the event on April, however, it was postponed for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic along with the 2020 Summer Olympics. As a champion at a non-olympic weight, Nickal was supposed to decide whether he was going to compete at 86 or 97 kilograms, but this decision never became public as the events were postponed. On September 21, he announced that he would compete at 86 kilograms in 2021.
After the 2020 US Olympic Trials for wrestling, Nickal made his amateur mixed martial arts debut against David Conley on September 24, 2021, winning via arm-triangle choke submission in round one. In his next bout, Nickal scored a one-punch knockout over Billy Goode on November 5, 2021.
For his second professional match, Nickal faced Zachary Borrego on August 9, 2022, at Dana White's Contender Series 49. At weight ins, Borrego missed weight by 1.5 pounds, coming in at 187.5 lbs. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Borrego was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Nickal. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission early in the first round. Nickal was not awarded a contract due to his inexperience, with UFC president Dana White instead opting to arrange another fight for Nickal on the Contender Series.
Nickal was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Jamie Pickett on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282. However, Nickal withdrew due to injury. The bout was rescheduled for March 4, 2023 at UFC 285. He won the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Following the fight, Pickett's manager announced plans to appeal the fight to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the grounds that Nickal took advantage of an uncalled groin shot to win the fight.
| Height | 6ft 1in |
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Dating & Relationship Status
There is no publicly available information regarding Bo Nickal's current dating or relationship status.
In early April, Nickal competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials as the sixth seed, in an attempt to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the challenge tournament Nickal defeated '21 NCAA champion from Penn State Carter Starocci (round of 16), '19 US Open champion and third-seeded Pat Downey (quarterfinals), and '19 US National champion Zahid Valencia (semifinals). In the best–of–three finals, Nickal faced fellow Penn State legend and '18 World Champion David Taylor. Nickal lost twice by scores of 0–4 and 0–6, failing to make the US Olympic Team and break Taylor's 45–match win streak. Taylor would go on to claim the gold medal at the Summer Olympics. In regards to their close relationship, Taylor then stated:
Nickal is the son of Jason and Sandy Nickal. They were both college athletes, as his mother played basketball at San Diego State University and his father played football at Chadron State College. Jason coached Nickal as a youth until he went off to college at Penn State. His mother Sandy is also a former amateur boxer.
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Net Worth
Bo Nickal's net worth is not publicly disclosed, but his success in wrestling and his emerging career in MMA likely contribute to his financial stability.
Entering his freshman season ranked fourteenth in the country, Nickal won his first eighteen matches, claiming titles from the Nittany Lion Open and the Southern Scuffle and notable victories over returning NCAA runner-up Brian Realbuto, multiple DI All-Americans in Zach Epperly, Bryce Hammond and Ethan Ramos, and future NCAA champion Myles Martin. In his nineteenth match, Nickal, now the top-ranked 174 pounder in the country, was defeated by Nate Jackson on points, ending his streak. Afterwards, Nickal bounced back with eight straight wins, including another one over Martin, to finish the regular season with a record of 26–1. At the Big Ten Conference Championships, Nickal claimed three bonus point-victories, including a fall over Martin and a major over Zac Brunson in the finale. Nickal entered the NCAA's as the top-seed, defeating his first three opponents to make the semifinals, where he avenged his regular season loss to Nate Jackson on points, advancing to the finals. In the finals, Nickal faced the eleventh seed in Myles Martin, whom he had already defeated three times earlier, but was defeated by the opposition in a close and frenetic upset, claiming runner-up honors.
As a junior, Nickal compiled 23 wins and no losses during regular season, with 21 bonus–point victories, claimed multiple tournament titles and wins over the likes of Domenic Abounader and his nemesis Myles Martin. At the Big Ten Championships, Nickal claimed his second title by beating Martin in the finale, advancing to the NCAAs as the favorite top–seed. At the National tournament, he earned notable wins over '16 MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood, freshman phenom from Cornell Max Dean and Michigan's Domenic Abounader to make the finale, where he scored one of his signature pins in his career over Myles Martin, ending the rivalry, claiming his second NCAA title and clinching the team title for PSU. Due to his dominance, he was awarded the NCAA Championship Outstanding Wrestler award (MVP) and the prestigious Schalles Award as the nation's top pinner.
Social Network
Nickal is active on social media platforms, including Instagram, where he engages with fans and shares updates about his career. He can be found on Instagram under the handle @nobickal1.
Nickal is a Christian. He stated his faith in God helps alleviate the pressure he feels in competition, "Win or lose, I'm still the same person and my family loves me and I still serve a great God, and, you know, that's just part of His plan for my life is to wrestle. So I do feel like it's important, but at the end of the day that's not what defines me. I just have placed my identity in Jesus Christ and I go out there and compete freely and the best I can every match." As a child, his favorite wrestler was two-time Olympic Gold Medalist John Smith. Apart from wrestling, he is also an enthusiast of spikeball and likes American football, his favorite player being former Detroit Lions player Barry Sanders.
Education
Nickal attended Allen High School in Texas, where he excelled academically, maintaining a 3.85 GPA. He went on to attend Penn State University, where he graduated as a highly accomplished wrestler.
Bo Nickal's transition from wrestling to MMA has been noted, with his professional MMA career beginning positively, as he has stated he is "1-0 in my pro career". His background in wrestling has provided a strong foundation for his mixed martial arts career, and he continues to be a figure of interest in both sports.
In freestyle wrestling, he claimed the 2019 U23 World Championship and the US Open national championship, and was a finalist at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials and a Final X contestant in 2019. As a collegiate wrestler, Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion (finalist in 2016) and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University.
In fifth grade, he moved to Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Nickal made the varsity high school team while in eighth grade and placed second at the New Mexico state tournament that same season.
As a high school freshman, he moved once again, now to Allen High School in Allen, Texas. He placed second at the Texas state tournament his freshman year, and then won every state tournament he competed in from his sophomore-year onward, becoming a three-time Texas state champion. As a junior, he placed fifth at the 2013 U17 World Championships in freestyle. After finishing his junior year, Nickal committed to wrestle as a Nittany Lion at the Pennsylvania State University. He graduated from high school with an 183–7 record, including 131 pins, and was the pound-for-pound ninth-ranked wrestler in the nation.
By the start of 2020, Nickal moved up to 97 kilograms in an attempt to take out reigning Olympic Gold medalist Kyle Snyder. He effortlessly passed the first round by technical fall before facing Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian (winner of the championship), who would nullify Nickal to a 0–10 technical fall, marking the first time he had been defeated in such fashion in freestyle (since graduating) or college. In the consolation bracket, he would also have a tough time, as he had a close match with Alisher Yergali in which he was down 11–12 but was able to secure a last second takedown and earn a 13–12 point-victory. Next in the bracket was Kyle Snyder, however, Nickal did not appear on the mat, forcing the match to be ruled as a forfeit victory for Snyder and also eliminating Nickal from the tournament, placing seventh.
! colspan="7"| Senior freestyle wrestling matches ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2020 US Olympic Team Trials at 86 kg 🇺🇸 State College, Pennsylvania ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 7th at 97 kg 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2019 U23 World Championships at 92 kg 🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2019 US U23 World Team Trials at 92 kg 🇺🇸 Fargo, North Dakota ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2019 US World Team Trials at 92 kg 🇺🇸 New Brunswick, New Jersey 🇺🇸 Lincoln, Nebraska ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2019 US Open at 92 kg 🇺🇸 Las Vegas, Nevada ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2017 US Open 4th at 86 kg 🇺🇸 Las Vegas, Nevada ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2016 US Last Chance OTT 4th at 86 kg 🇺🇸 Cedar Falls, Iowa
