Bo Nickal plans to upstage Team Khabib’s Dagestan with American college wrestlers: “You have no idea what we do”
Penn State alum and UFC middleweight Bo Nickal dreams of a collegiate transition and MMA all-wrestle dominance like Dagestan's Team Khabib.
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Penn State University's Bo Nickal wants collegiate lineup to be like dominant Team Khabib (Source: IMAGO/X)
Along with other athletes and coaches, Bo Nickal conducts workouts at American Top Team Happy Valley in Pleasant Gap, Pa. The new martial arts gym in rural Pa. hopes to tap into Penn State University’s (PSU) wrestling talent pool. Is UFC standout Nickal trying to build a wrestle-heavy State College army; why yes …he is! He even has plans to overtake the Dagestani Team Khabib in all things wrestling.
Penn State University legend Bo Nickal is a three-time NCAA Division I national /Big Ten Conference championships winner. He also won the 2019 under-23 World/US Open national championship in freestyle wrestling. He was the recipient of the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding collegiate wrestler in 2019. Now, Nickal also wants a similar domination for his PSU lineup to that of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his Dagestani MMA Dynasty.
I want to…I want to – So I have this idea right: So obviously I started the gym out here at ATT… more so for like all of the guys to be able to come in and train…And, uh. if they want to transition over to fighting… in UFC everybody has this crazy, um I guess view of the of Dagestan and like the way they do things this or that, but like people have no idea what we do. Like the system that we have like what we’re used to at Penn State…it’s not even comparable. It’s like bro like we’re talking AAA Baseball to Major League!
Bo Nickal on the ‘Nickals and Dimes’ Podcast |N&D 67| (@nobickal1 on YT)
Team Khabib and their mettle in world sambo is consequently a global matter. A Dagestani not clinching and not undergoing rigorous scrambles from young age is like a bird not flying. One of the best things to come out of PSU – Team ATT’s Bo Nickal wants the same. Penn State has won 10 national titles in wrestling since 2011; the UFC middleweight wants them to stretch and transition to MMA.
Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is not heavy on the mic. But his wrestling prowess is one to behold. He has also been trying to upscale his standup skills. Adjacent to his story, he wants prime PSU talents to have an easier platform to outshine in collegiate wrestling and transition to MMA if they want to. Yet another MMA notable diverted attention to collegiate wrestling this week as well.
Stipe Miocic launches campaign in response to shock news from his old university, brings attention to collegiate wrestling
The lack of a dominant collegiate lineup is what prime instigator Chael Sonnen spoke about as well; a goldmine for UFC to tap. UFC’s olympian jewel Daniel Cormier was an NCAA Division I national finalist/two-time NJCAA champ. GOAT Jon Jones was a NJCAA wrestling national/state champion at Union-Endicott High School. Fighters like “Bones”, Cormier, Dan Henderson, and Randy Couture spend the day at youth wrestling tournaments in high school gyms.
The results speak for themselves. Wrestling remains a perfect foundation. But not a major portion of wrestlers transition into UFC/MMA, other than the entirety of Team Khabib. Other than that, no major Penn State University or collegiate names are under contract for long in MMA. Much like Sonnen, “good guy” coach Bo Nickal wants to change that.
Similarly, Stipe Miocic competed for Cleveland State University’s wrestling program before turning to MMA. His collegiate experience helped him develop a strong base against the UFC’s all-time great heavyweights. Now, he diverts back attention to it.
I’m sick to my stomach and heartbroken for these young men and coaches, …One of the oldest sports at Cleveland State University, wrestling, is being cut. As a former wrestler at CSU, this program was a huge chapter of my life and shaped me into the person I am today. I’ll always cherish what it gave me. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this decision. I hope there’s still time to make a difference and save this incredible program. Let’s save the program!
Stipe Miocic via X (@stipemiocic)
Miocic was Ohio’s Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion and an outstanding wrestler. Cleveland State’s athletic department informed the wrestling team it was cutting the program, along with softball and women’s golf, earlier this month. The university was in financial trouble for years, as the Akron Beacon-Journal reports. There’s an ongoing campaign to cover legal costs associated with the appeal and a “Save Cleveland State Wrestling” GoFundMe link.
Related: Bo Nickal claims Dagestani Islam Makhachev would get ‘pinned’ by 23-year-old NCAA champion
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