UFC middleweight contender Bo Nickal is willing to test his wrestling against anyone or anything.
Bo Nickal returns to the Octagon this weekend against former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. But before the biggest fight of his UFC career, Nickal is willing to help one of the biggest YouTubers on the planet attempt to achieve an almost insurmountable goal.
Nickal remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure after recent wins over Val Woodburn, Cody Brundage, and two Dana White’s Contender Series victories. But Nickal is looking to get back into the good graces of UFC fans after a sluggish showing against Paul Craig in his unanimous decision win in November.
Nickal was recently presented with a unique path to take his UFC stardom to new heights outside the Octagon.
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Bo Nickal accepted Mr. Beast’s mind-numbing challenge before UFC Des Moines
YouTube sensation Mr. Beast, who has accumulated millions of fans during his content creation career, recently issued a public challenge to those who believe they can compete against one of nature’s most ferocious animals. In a recent post to his social media posts, Mr. Beast sought interested followers for an in-the-works 100 vs. 1 fight with a Gorilla for an upcoming video.
Nickal is one of the most decorated wrestlers in United States history after a stellar collegiate career at Penn State. During his time under scholarship, Nickal won multiple national championships before making the full-time transition to MMA upon graduation.
Nickal is willing to test his skills for one of Mr. Beast’s most dangerous challenges.
In a recent post to X, Nickal didn’t hesitate to accept Mr. Beast’s public challenge.
“I’m in,” Nickal responded.
Nickal isn’t the only former or current MMA fighter to willingly test themselves against ferocious animals. Years before his UFC Hall of Fame career, Khabib Nurmagomedov built his strength in Dagestan by wrestling with bears before smothering some of the UFC’s greatest stars.
As of this writing, Mr. Beast hasn’t publicly responded to Nickal’s acceptance, and the two sides could be in discussions after the UFC star’s fight this weekend at UFC Des Moines.
Bo Nickal dismissed Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling ahead of unbeaten contender’s title shot
As Nickal prepares to face De Ridder this weekend, he remains keen on facing one of the middleweight division’s fiercest competitors. Khamzat Chimaev, who is expected to face Dricus du Plessis for the next middleweight title fight, has been a common target of Nickal’s since he entered the promotion.
Nickal doesn’t rate Chimaev’s wrestling highly, one of the few who believe Chimaev’s grappling isn’t worthy of recognition. When discussing MMA’s greatest wrestlers, Chimaev was left out of Nickal’s answer.
Nickal’s repeated dismissals led former UFC star Darren Till to serve him a cold response on social media. Till and Chimaev have been teammates since 2020, and Till remains a key presence in Chimaev’s camp.
As Nickal continues to rise the UFC middleweight ladder, he continues to express unrelenting confidence in his abilities. It’s a matter of time until we see whether or not Nickal’s immense hype is warranted.
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