Is UFC debutant Bo Nickal capable of beating Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira?

Bo Nickal emerged as a budding title prospect in the UFC middleweight division in 2022 after two victories on Dana White's Contender Series.

Nickal's explosion onto the MMA scene was akin to Khamzat Chimaev's introduction to the UFC. 'The Allen Assassin' recorded three professional MMA wins in four months with a total octagon time of 1 minute and 27 seconds.

Nickal has a background in freestyle wrestling and is regarded by UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith as the second-best wrestler in the world at 86 kg. 'The Allen Assassin' won the NCAA division 1 tournament three times in four years in college and is also a blue belt in BJJ.

Watch Bo Nickal win his second NCAA division 1 title below:

Bo Nickal will be making his promotional debut on next month's UFC 285 pay-per-view card against Jamie Pickett, which is headlined by none other than Jon Jones.

Despite Nickal's inexperience in MMA, he stated during a previous interview with Ariel Helwani that he could dethrone then-champion Israel Adesanya. During a recent interview with Helwani, 'The Allen Assassin' broke down his chances of beating Alex Pereira and said:

"I'm not gonna say it's an easy fight, because [Pereira] is dangerous. But as far as styles go, that is a great matchup for me. I watched the [Adesanya vs. Pereira] fight a few times... I just feel if I grabbed a hold of either of those guys it wouldn't go well for them."

Watch the interview below:

Middleweight champion Alex Pereira has far less experience in MMA than Israel Adesanya. 'The Last Stylebender' has proven that he can keep opponents like Derek Brunson from taking him down. However, Pereira is yet to be tested by a fighter who wasn't willing to stand and trade strikes with him in the UFC.

Seemingly, Bo Nickal could provide 'Poatan' with a tough matchup as long as he avoids the supernatural power of the Brazilian. As for Adesanya, his MMA experience could be advantageous against Nickal, but he too, would no doubt look to keep things standing.

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Bo Nickal describes making UFC debut on a Jon Jones pay-per-view card

Bo Nickal will make his promotional debut on a card headlined by arguably the sport's greatest-ever fighter, Jon Jones, at UFC 285 next month.

'The Allen Assassin' has been touted as a future middleweight champion, and there are few better opportunities to introduce yourself to the MMA world than on a Jon Jones PPV card.

Nickal reflected on the opportunity with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour and said:

"To open up the main card with [Jones] as the main event is a very cool place to be in my debut. The goal is to eventual headline myself, but for now I feel very grateful."