Bo Nickal lived up to the hype as he won his UFC debut by tapping out Jamie Pickett in the opening round.
Nickal, 27, had a moment to forget with the first strike he threw in the UFC 285 clash as the unbeaten prospect slipped on his bum after missing a head kick. Nickal got straight back to his feet and shot for a takedown as Pickett charged towards him, with the college wrestling champion taking the UFC veteran to the ground but seemingly landing an accidental groind strike whilst doing so.
Pickett quickly found himself in a vulnerable position on the ground as Nickal was searching for a submission. The 27-year-old passed Pickett's guard and locked up an arm-triangle choke, but the submission was not firmly in and Pickett was able to survive. Nickal held onto the submission for several minutes and his efforts paid off as he squeezed it tight enough to force the tap from Pickett to win his UFC debut.
"I feel at home, I've been training my whole life for this," Nickal said after his win. "I train every day so I can come out here and dominate and that's what I did. For me I'm now 4-0 at 27 years old, I'm young. I've only been doing MMA for a year and a half, but you bet your a** that I'm going to eventually get that belt and become the pound-for-pound number one."
Nickal told Mirror Fighting before the fight that he wants to take a steady approach to his UFC career and a title shot is not yet in his mind. The 27-year-old, who previously competed in Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC promotion before winning his UFC debut, admitted that a title shot isn’t something on his mind.
What were your thoughts on Bo Nickal's UFC debut? Let us know in the comments section below
"I definitely want take a gradual approach to my career," Nickal said. "To continue building up and getting better before I take on big fights. In my honest assessment of where I am now, it's already going really fast. I'm just a few fights into my career. I didn't expect to be in the UFC at this point, I expected to be in this UFC around eight to ten fights in my career.
"God decided a different opportunity for me and that it was to go quicker so I jumped on the opportunity. I think for me I am never focused on five or six fights down the line, I'm focused at the fight on my hands. If it gets to the point where they offer me a title shot and I'm not at the point where I want to be, then I'm going to have a serious talk with my manager and those around me."
