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Bo Nickal Is Ready For The Biggest Stage | UFC Freedom 250
After Bouncing Back To Form In Spectacular Fashion, Bo Nickal Is Excited To Showcase His Best Self At UFC Freedom 250 | Presented by Crypto.com And RAM
Bo Nickal has already shone on the big stage in two different sports, but his next assignment is taking things to a whole new level. Nickal will return to the Octagon on June 14 at the White House where he’ll take on Kyle Daukaus in a middleweight bout at UFC Freedom 250. It’s a monumental moment for the patriotic Penn State grad, who earned national acclaim on the wrestling mats before jumping into the UFC’s Octagon.
“It's so special to be able to represent America at the White House. It really doesn't get more special than that,” he said. “So I'm looking forward to it. I put in the work to feel confident come fight night that I did everything I needed to do to be prepared, and we're going to have some fun.”
Nickal was both honored and “pumped” to receive the call to be a part of the fight card, but a spot on this one-of-one event also brings a high degree of pressure and, potentially, stress. Some may shy away from that, but Nickal has chosen to embrace it ahead of what promises to be a huge night in Washington D.C.
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“I think that a lot of people try to maybe deflect how big it is, and that helps them maybe cope with the stress,” he suggested. “For me, it's always worked better to just acknowledge it for what it is and say, ‘Yeah, this is a big deal. This is a lot of pressure.’ I think that when you just acknowledge that and accept it, and you realize you have a choice – I could always not fight if I didn't want to, but I want to do this. I love it, and it's fun. So this is an opportunity for me. I get to do this. Just reframe your mindset to one that's more focused on gratitude versus focusing on fear, I would say.”
Bo Nickal Interview | UFC Freedom 250
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UFC Freedom 250 Presented by Crypto.com & RAM
Bo Nickal Interview | UFC Freedom 250
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The occasion is certainly a huge one, but his fight with Daukaus also marks a key moment in Nickal’s mixed martial arts career. After arriving in the UFC with a 3-0 record that included back-to-back wins on Dana White’s Contender Series, Nickal had the weight of expectation on his shoulders from the get-go.
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The three-time Division I national champion and Hodge Trophy winner arrived in the Octagon with an elite resumé from the sport of freestyle wrestling and was immediately tipped for the top. That pressure would have been enough to break many an athlete, especially when he suffered his first career defeat to Reinier de Ridder in May 202, but rather than viewing that as a setback, Nickal sees it as the moment he leveled up.
“I feel like I've been able to make massive progress,” he explained. “From a year ago, losing my first fight, I think that I grew more from that fight than all my other fights combined. And so I just feel more confident than ever, more motivated than ever, and, yeah, grateful for every part of my journey. The highs and the lows are all lessons that we can take and learn from them, and try to just continue to improve and get better.”
The defeat offered Nickal the chance to make some tweaks to help elevate his game, and he bounced back in style in his most recent outing with a spectacular head-kick knockout of Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322. Despite that highlight-reel return to form, the pressure still remains.
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The cliché some like to use is that pressure is a privilege. For Nickal, it’s just something he’s always had to contend with. Rather than being a crucial factor, positive or negative, pressure has simply been a constant for the 30-year-old.
“I think that, for me, I've always felt added pressure with anything that I do,” he said. “Any time I compete, even when I was a young kid, like eight, nine, 10 years old, there'd be people crowded around the mat to watch me. So this was just part of my life. I think it's just more normal to me now to have a little more pressure than other people, but it's exciting and fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way. With more pressure comes more reward, so I just feel grateful for every opportunity that I get, and I just try to have fun with it, and be myself.”
Full Fight | Bo Nickal vs Rodolfo Vieira
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Full Fight | Bo Nickal vs Rodolfo Vieira
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Nickal’s matchup at the White House will see him take on Daukaus, who is in his second UFC stint. The former Cage Fury Fighting Championships middleweight champion is as seasoned as they come and has experienced the highs and lows of mixed martial arts at the top level. The Philadelphia native heads into the matchup in outstanding form, having finished his last four opponents – two by submission and two by knockout.
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“It's a great matchup. I think Kyle is a guy that’s very tough. He has a lot of grit,” said Nickal. “To be able to be in the UFC, get cut, and come back – that takes a special person that's obviously doing some things right and making adjustments. So, I'm looking forward to a good fight and a guy that's going to bring it, and I know I'm going to be ready.”
Victory for Nickal will likely see him get the opportunity to challenge someone in the top 15 and could see him kickstart a run up the division.
Nickal has always harbored ambitions of making it to the very top and sees his White House assignment as the latest opportunity to showcase his skills as he looks to eventually become the best in the world at 185 pounds.
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“I think I'm ready to fight with the best guys in the world,” he said. “I know that, in training, I train with top-level guys, and I think that I've been making improvements consistently, and I'm looking forward to just continuing to get better and continuing to improve, and see how far I can go.
“It's gonna be massive. This is easily the biggest event I've ever been a part of. And so I think that all the events prior, all the successes and all the failures prior, have helped prepare me for this, and I take all that experience into this moment, and I use that to my advantage to just be the best version of myself. And I think, more than anything, you know, just go out there and be myself, be free, and have fun.”
Don't miss a moment of UFC Freedom 250 presented by Crypto.com and Ram, live from The White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 14. The historic event begins at 8pm ET/5pm PT and can be streamed live on Paramount+.
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