Bo Nickal shares how he secured his UFC contract against Donovan Beard at Dana White's Contender Series

UFC middleweight Bo Nickal recounted how he got the UFC contract after beating Donovan Beard at the Dana White's Contender Series in 2022.

Nickal defeated Beard in Week 10 of the Dana White's Contender Series. The NCAA Division 1 National Champion landed an overhand left and scooped a takedown before locking in a triangle choke.

Dana White then awarded the 28-year-old a UFC contract, expressing optimism for the prodigy from Pennsylvania. White said:

"Me, and a lot of other people are excited to see the future that this kid has."

Nickal then shared the finishing sequence and the subsequent awarding on his Instagram story:

SS of @nobickal1's IG story

Nickal has won three gold medals in the NCAA Division 1 Championship during his time at Pennsylvania State University. He tested his grappling merit against the Jiu-Jitsu savant Gordon Ryan, who defeated the D1 wrestler via a triangle armbar in 2019. The Colorado native transitioned to MMA in 2021 and has remained undefeated (6-0-0).

Nickal's most recent appearance in the octagon saw him wrap Cody Brundage in a rear-naked choke in round two at the illustrious UFC 300 in April this year. He will face submission artist Paul Craig at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 16, 2024.

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Chael Sonnen thinks Bo Nickal should refrain from striking

With his impressive wrestling background, Bo Nickal has made waves in the combat sports community, quickly ascending the MMA ranks and potentially heading toward UFC stardom.

Although the NCAA gold medalist can dominate most of the middleweight division through his hard-nosed grappling, the 28-year-old isn't shy to let his hands go, a trait that MMA veteran Chael Sonnen believes could cost him heavily.

On his show on YouTube, 'The American Gangster' explained the tendency of decorated grapplers to fall in love with striking and serving the impulse to please the crowd, eventually perishing their original expertise. He said:

"Bo Nickal’s biggest risk is that he falls in love with his striking. Now, this is such a common thing to do. It doesn’t matter what a professional athlete you are, and Bo is the epitomy of professional."

The former UFC middleweight title challenger added:

“In Golf, it’s very common in Golf. It’s called falling in love with your swing. And guys do it all the time. You can’t really get an athlete to not to do it. So, what I’m talking about with Bo and his biggest problem is that he’d fall in love with his striking, a number of wrestlers have done that. I have seen in my life one get away with it, and that is Dan Henderson.”

Furthermore, the UFC Hall of Famer noted that Nickal should resist his urge to strike if he wants to go far:

“The biggest threat that Bo is facing right now is human nature. And human nature says, you’ve wrestled and won all of these things since you were a little boy. Go out and get the OOOHS and the AAAHS from the crowd in a different way. And Bo’s biggest threat is that urge and impulse winning over and then he fall in love with his striking.”

Check out Chael Sonnen's advice to Bo Nickal below (1:23 and 9:48):