“Taken Too Soon” – UFC Star Bo Nickal Breaks Down in Tears Remembering Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Charlie Kirk was a conservative commentator who really stood out to UFC middleweight star Bo Nickal for standing up for what was right.

“Taken Too Soon” – UFC Star Bo Nickal Breaks Down in Tears Remembering Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Bo Nickal remembers Charlie Kirk (Image via MMA Fighting/TP USA)

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The death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk shook the United States to its core. People from the political right as well left were disturbed by what had happened, even though many others had a joyous reaction. Even the MMA community was left disturbed, and UFC middleweight star Bo Nickal recently spoke about the impact he felt after Kirk was assassinated.

For the unversed, Nickal is a decorated college wrestler who entered MMA to become a world champion. Moreover, he is also very close to the conservative movement. His relationship with Donald Trump led him on a path to become inspired by Kirk. Ahead of UFC 322, the former Penn State alum sat down with Benny Johnson and briefly spoke about Kirk in an emotional manner.

Man, I think that I loved his example as a family man, as a man of God, as a guy who’s honest, who stood up for what was right and what he believed in despite, just like, unrelenting opposition.

Bo Nickal told Benny Johnson

Most of all, the example of what Kirk did against his opposition stood out to Bo Nickal. Kirk didn’t resort to any violent tendencies and always wanted discussions to clear out every opposition or misunderstanding. As such, the D-1 wrestler felt everyone must honor Kirk by doing what the late political commentator did in his life.

And I think that it’s so sad. I just think about his wife and kids. Obviously, I have a wife and kids too, and it’s just… he was taken too soon. But I think that our responsibility now is to keep spreading that message and that positivity that he spread and stand for the truth.

Bo Nickal told Benny Johnson

Coming to the UFC side of things, CEO Dana White also attended Kirk’s funeral. The promoter felt uncomfortable talking about the assassination as well. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also expressed his emotional thoughts to Kirk and his family on social media.

Fighters in the UFC tend to lean towards the political right in the United States. As such, Charlie Kirk and his impact on the conservative movement certainly may have impacted the fighters. This may be why Bo Nickal became emotional talking about Kirk and his promise to honor the late political commentator’s memory.

Bo Nickal demoted to prelims of UFC 322 after fan outrage

On the professional side of things, Bo Nickal has a monumental task of rebounding from his loss against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. The American wrestler looked outmatched in the contest and was brutally body-shot TKO’ed by the Dutchman in the second round. Nickal couldn’t use his wrestling, and his striking looked the worst it’s ever been in that bout.

Bo Nickal gets roasted for his recent UFC loss
Bo Nickal (X)

Now, the American wrestler will look to rebound against Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322. Initially, the bout was placed on the main card, attracting much outrage. Last year, fans were overwhelmingly angry at the sight of seeing Nickal on the main card of UFC 300. Much of it was because former world champions Jiri Prochazka and Aljamain Sterling were demoted to the prelims for the American wrestler.

Ever since that day, fans have vocally expressed their unhappiness seeing Nickal getting a favorable promotion from the UFC. Nickal’s UFC 309 performance against Paul Craig in front of Donald Trump was labeled a snooze fest for its low output nature. As such, many fans think that Nickal shouldn’t receive any main card spot until he proves his worth.

With the outrage that big, the UFC decided to put Nickal’s bout in the prelims and promote the lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Benoit Saint-Denis onto the main card. After all, Dariush and BSD are ranked contenders, and Nickal has yet to beat a ranked opponent in the UFC. This is indeed a setback for the American wrestler.

Now, he will have to perform exceptionally well to bounce back and regain the hype that he once had. Vieira is a BJJ Black Belt, and Nickal has a tough test ahead of him, considering he struggled against another BJJ Black Belt in de Ridder earlier this year. As such, UFC 322 presents a significant challenge to the decorated college wrestler.

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