Bo Nickal lays out surprising timeline for next UFC fight, makes career goals clear

HARRISBURG (TNS) — The Bo Nickal hype train is off and rolling down the tracks after he needed just 38 seconds to flatten Val Woodburn at UFC 290 over the weekend, and it looks like nobody will slow it down anytime soon.

Except for maybe Nickal.

Because the former Penn State wrestling national champion showed up on “The MMA Hour” Wednesday and talked about maybe taking his time before getting back into the cage.

“There’s a chance (I don’t fight again this year),” Nickal said. “I could easily fight two more times. I could fight next week if I wanted, but for me, everything that I’m training for and preparing for is my 10th title defense down the road. I’m not preparing for my next fight. That’s my mindset always, so I’m going to do what prepares me best for 10 title defenses.

“Of course, there more I fight with less time in between fights, the bigger hype grows and stuff,” he added. “But that’s honestly pretty irrelevant. I don’t care about hype or how much people are talking about me.

“I’m just here to fight.”

There’s a lot to unravel there.

Nickal is supremely talented, but he is also still very green in the sport of mixed martial arts. The win over Woodburn moved him to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the UFC. He has been nothing less than impressive, but talking about 10 title defenses … with guys like Israel Adesanya sitting at the top of the middleweight division may be a bit premature.

That said, again, Bo thus far hasn’t done anything that suggests he can’t make a run at winning it all.

As far as the hype thing goes, one of the great things about the UFC is that the promotion hasn’t hesitated to make matchups that fans are excited about in the past. So, while there is buzz around his name, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he might get a shot sooner than later.

It is a good problem to have, even if he says it is all sort of irrelevant to him.

“Like I announced, my wife is pregnant, and I want to make sure I’m there for her,” Nickal said on the show. “I also have in September a bunch of hunting trips planned. I’m going to New Mexico. I’ll be in Alaska. I’ll be in Colorado, and I’m running all around. We’ll see.

“It’s definitely possible that I fight again this year, but I’m going to be in the gym getting better,” he continued. “I’ve had five fights in the past 13 months, which is quite a few. So, I definitely want to just continue to get better and develop and improve. So we’ll see what makes sense.”

He is clearly confident, but he is also clearly willing to be patient — smart — in building toward a title shot.

“I’m not in a rush,” he said on The MMA Hour. “We’ll get there. We’ll get to where I want to be in due time. For me, I’m 27, I’ve probably got another eight years of prime fighting. Even up to 35, I think I’ll still be in my prime because of my discipline, and my worth ethic, and my commitment inside the cage and outside. I’ve got a long time to keep competing. So for me, it’s no rush. I’m 5-0. Whoever the UFC gives me, whoever Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) decide that makes sense for me to fight then I’m ready to go. But I’ll get the belt and achieve my goals in due time. Right now, I’m not in a rush.”

But, again, he’s also not slamming the door in getting back in there this year.

“I could be fighting a ranked opponent by (International Fight Week 2024) but it’s interesting because once I fight a ranked guy and finish that guy in the first round, then it’s like the rocket ship is all the way up to the top quick,” Nickal said.

“I’m here to go down as one of the greatest of all time and end my career as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” he added. “Everything else, in regards to social media hype, really means nothing to me.”

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