Bo Nickal explains why he's different to most other elite-level athletes
Bo Nickal is emerging as one of the UFC's most exciting prospects and ahead of his fight this weekend, the elite grappler has detailed where he excels compared to other high-level competitors.
The wrestler was recruited by the UFC just three fights into his professional career in the sport, but many believed it should have been sooner. In his second outing on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), the rising talent scored a first-round finish against then undefeated Zachary Borrego but surprisingly, wasn't offered a deal afterward.
While discussing his passion for combat sports, Bo Nickal insisted that his dream of becoming a State Champion and an NCAA World Champion at such a young age essentially gave him a head start on most other talents.
"One thing that is a little different about me than most people is that, I know I started [wrestling] when I was five, but as a kid I was really super-focused. I was really able to set goals and visualize and make that a priority really young. Generally when you see kids get serious about their sport, they're in high school or even later sometimes... But for me, being seven [or] eight years old [and] already having big goals of being a State Champion, being an NCAA Champion, World Champion. I not only said those things and wrote those things down, I really committed to it."
Knowing his career choices and not wavering from his pre-teen years will undoubtedly be a huge factor as to why he's excelling as a wrestler and holds gold medals at the U23 World Championships, NCAA Division I World Championships, and much more.
Check out what Bo Nickal had to say about setting himself up for success in the video below.
Bo Nickal's UFC debut: Who will the wrestling standout fight in his first appearance inside the octagon?
Just three fights into his MMA career—with two of those coming on Dana White's Contender Series—Bo Nickal finds himself opening up the main card at UFC 285 against a 12-year veteran of the sport.
Although his time under the UFC banner has been rocky thus far, Jamie Pickett brings a vast amount of experience with him into the cage and has proven himself to be a tough customer in all facets of the game.
At 34 years old, 'The Nightwolf' will be entering what could be considered the biggest fight of his career as he has the chance to silence the doubters and steal Bo Nickal's hype in the process.