Just three bouts into his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure, Bo Nickal has already set a pretty high bar.
That’s probably why his second-round submission of Cody Brundage in his third outing at UFC 300 was met with a collective shrug from the MMA community. After all, Nickal’s first five professional appearances all ended inside of a round. For whatever it’s worth, the former NCAA national champion wrestler wasn’t too impressed with his performance, either.
“I feel good, but it’s definitely mixed emotions because I felt like I could have performed better,” Nickal said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “I don’t judge based on wins and losses, I judge based on how I feel I performed. i could have done a lot better in certain areas. Given the time off, I was a little too amped up. And given the fact that I finished everybody pretty fast, I was trying to knock the guy out. So it’s just a good lesson and stuff that I’ll be appreciative of moving forward. It’s only going to help me in the future.”
In the immediate aftermath of his latest victory, Nickal gave himself a “thumbs down” in the Octagon. However, he revealed that he did receive some encouraging words from UFC CEO Dana White, who was seated cageside.
“He told me to keep my head up and keep doing what I’m doing and I’m going to be a big star,” Nickal said. “To hear that from him, I was really appreciative of it. I think he knows better than anybody the way this sport works and the way guys develop and improve and what they become.”
After earning a pair of first-round finishes on Dana White’s Contender Series, Nickal has vanquished Brundage, Valentine Woodburn and Jamie Pickett in UFC competition. While Brundage had the edge in experience, Nickal would have preferred to put his opponent away in more dominant fashion.
“That’s just the way I work and how my mind has always been. For me, going out and getting a win or even get a finish, that’s not what I’m looking to do. I’m looking to dominate every second of the fight,” he said. “I don’t think I did that. Thete’s a lot that I could have done better. It’s just back to the drawing board.”
With that being said, Nickal is accustomed to managing expectations. His own are high enough, so he isn’t concerned with those on the outside.
“I’m doing this because I love it, because I enjoy it. I’m obviously very good at it, I’m passionate about it. It’s fun. I just focus on all those things,” Nickal said. “The expecations of other people, they don’t motivate me any more, they don’t motivate me any less. It’s just part of life.”
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