Bo Nickal had the best performance of his pro MMA career at UFC 322, and one MMA legend thinks title aspirations are back on.
Nickal had been under heavy scrutiny following a decision win over Paul Craig and a TKO defeat to Reinier de Ridder. He returned to Madison Square Garden, the same venue that saw fans boo him after defeating Craig, to face Rodolfo Vieira this past Saturday. Nickal scored a head kick knockout in the third round.
In a post-UFC 322 reaction video, Daniel Cormier said Nickal looked like someone who has world championship potential (via MMAJunkie).
“Bo Nickal had one of the nastiest head-kick knockouts,” Cormier said. “It was exactly what that kid needed after losing his first fight. So many people were ready to write him off. He proved that not only should you not write him off, but he’s getting better. He set that head kick up beautifully. They’re doing some great work with Bo down at American Top Team, and Bo does still look like one of the American-born guys that could potentially be a world champion.”
Nickal can now move past his first pro MMA defeat and focus on the future. More performances like the one he had on Saturday night could lead to significant opportunities. For now, Nickal is simply happy to get back in the win column.
Prior to his UFC 322 victory, Nickal said he felt the loss to de Ridder back in May was something he needed.
“I think that for me, it felt like a lot of changes because I really just changed a lot of stuff mentally and had a different level of focus, and intensity, and motivation with my training,” Nickal said at UFC 322 media day. “I think that the loss has been something that’s been really good for me and something that I’m grateful for. The hard part is just now it’s felt like a long time, and I’ve been waiting, just working and grinding – excited to get back in there this weekend.”
Tine will tell what’s next for Nickal, but BJPenn.com will keep you posted with the latest updates.