UFC Middleweight Prospect Signed by Real American Freestyle

RAF’s Hulk Hogan  Discuss Signing of Bo Nickal

While Hulk Hogan stopped short of revealing who Nickal would square off on the mats in Cleveland at the end of next month, he took time out to talk about the newest addition to the RAF active roster.

“Bo Nickal is a tremendous athlete and one of the most accomplished wrestlers on the planet,” Hogan began in a press release Wednesday. “Nickal immediately elevates the RAF roster to new heights with his competitiveness and experience. When fans attend an RAF event, they know they’re going to see the best of the best on the mat.”

The alumnus of Dana White’s Contender Series first revealed the news that he’d be going to RAF in his appearance on Wednesday’s edition of The Ariel Helwani Show.

Bo Nickal on Move to RAF

“Actually, the news is, I’m going to be pursuing something new, pursuing something different that’s maybe a little bit foreign to a lot of the MMA fans that listen to this show,” Bo Nickal began in his interview with Ariel Helwani. “There’s this lesser-known sport that’s called wrestling. It’s a really great base for professional MMA, and I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and be doing some professional wrestling matches with Real American Freestyle promotion coming up.”

“Aug. 30, I’ll be competing in Cleveland, OH and putting the shoes on and seeing how it goes,” he continued. “So, I’m excited!”

Unlike the sports entertainment promotions that Hulk Hogan has performed in, RAF will not follow any sort of recurring, ongoing plot. According to the official RAF Website, “Real American Freestyle is the first unscripted pro wrestling league for the best athletes in the world.”

Bo Nickal Eager to Stay Active

Nickal’s RAF debut marks the first time that he will have appeared in a wrestling match since his days at Penn State University in State College. While at the Big Ten school, he scored three NCAA Division I National Championships for the Nittany Lions.

For combat athletes, the quest to stay active in competition sometimes comes with a road featuring pit stops and dead ends. In the interview with Helwani, Bo Nickal says that he’s ready for a new phase in his life as a two-sport athlete.

“You see a lot of guys doing jiu-jitsu matches or wherever it is,” he told Ariel Helwani. “I just have the fire in me to compete as much as I can and realistically with fighting, I’ve been getting two fights a year. I think that’s going to be the trend, which is fine with me, but I’m 29 years old in my prime, and I’m just fired up to compete.”