Bo Nickal, Penn State Wrestling, UFC Bo Nickal’s Penn State Wrestling career helped set the stage for his success in the UFC. (Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images)

Where Are They Now? Penn State Wrestling Legend Bo Nickal’s UFC Journey from NCAA Glory to Octagon Spotlight

Originally posted on Nittany Central | By Kolin Hurlbut | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 12:46 AM ET

The dynasty of Penn State Wrestling over the last decade and a half has produced some all-time great NCAA Wrestlers.

During this off-season I am going to do a “Where are they now?” Series on Penn State Grapplers to come up under coach Cael Sanderson.

My first part in this series is going to be on Bo Nickal, who has transitioned his dominant grappling career into a UFC Contender.

“As a kid,” Nickal told NittanyCentral, of his ascent to UFC stardom, back in July 2023. “I always thought that maybe this would be a path for me and an option for me and I was always interested in it.

“I love watching the fights and have been a big fan of the UFC. But it wasn’t really until college that I decided for sure that I was going to fight. I did a couple of Jujitsu practices just randomly and I just loved it and I knew that once I was done wrestling that I had to fight and it was just some of that, it was too exciting for me.”

Bo Nickal wrestled at Penn State from 2014-2019 under Sanderson, and was prolific from his redshirt season, where he wrestled unattached at 174lbs and went 15-2 in open tournaments that season.

In 2015 as the starter at 174lbs he won the Big Ten Championship and was runner up at his first NCAA tournament. The following three seasons Nickal went on to win consecutive championships at 184lbs and in a move up to 197lbs in his senior season he won his third NCAA Championship. That season Nickal also brought home his second consecutive Dan Hodge Trophy as the NCAA best wrestler and Schalles trophy as the best Pinner in the country.

After his stint at Penn State Bo went on to wrestle out of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club on the freestyle circuit. In 2019 at 92k Nikal dominated his way to the US Open he went on to win the U23 World Championship.

How Penn State Wrestling Prepared Bo Nickael for UFC

Penn State Wrestling, Bo Nickal, UFC (Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood) Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Bo Nickal (red gloves) fights Paul Craig in the middleweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After 2020 was mostly null from Covid-19 2021 saw Nickal beat fellow Nittany Lion and future 5x NCAA Champion Carter Starocci on his way to a best of 3 final against another Nittany Lion Great David Taylor, who would end up taking the final and the 2020 Olympic Gold Medal.

During the 2020 COVID year, Nickal began to train and compete in MMA with his first amateur fight in 2021, and his pro debut in 2022. Nickal competed on Dana White’s Contender Series with two quick wins to receive his UFC Contract, making himself the center of attention with his wrestling background and impressive but short career.

After earning his contract, Bo fought in four straight UFC Pay Per View events, including the historic UFC 300 where he submitted Cody Brundage via Rear-Naked Choke in the second round.

In his most recent fight Nickal took his first professional loss to Reinier de Ridder who is a former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion in the One Fighting Championship.

After the loss in an interview with Ariel Helwani Nickal brought up previous losses in other events that have been catalyzing for his career, and is taking this as a learning opportunity moving forward.