LAS VEGAS -- There wasn't a lot of celebrating among his peers when Bo Nickal earned a coveted slot on the main card of UFC 300 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. It's a star-studded event, with 12 current or former champions among those competing. There are Olympic gold medalists, kickboxing champions, collegiate wrestling champs and all sorts of other highly accomplished athletes preparing to compete.
Nickal has fought two bouts in the UFC, with a combined Octagon time of three minutes, 32 seconds. No one would have complained if the UFC brass had opted to put, say, the match pitting former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka against Aleksandar Rakic, or former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo against ex-bantamweight champion in that main card opener.
But by choosing Nickal and his two UFC fights and Brundage, who is 2-3 in his last five, the UFC opened itself up to criticism.
Nickal is one of the most hyped prospects the UFC has ever signed. If he pans out -- Hall of Famer Michael Bisping recently said Nickal has a chance to become the American version of Khabib Nurmagomedov -- he's going to be one of the biggest stars in the sport. And with a few more impressive wins, he may never fight anywhere but on PPV.
So the decision to put him on the main card was simple: It allows people to see him and get used to paying to watch him. While in theory the number of people watching the preliminaries on ESPN will be greater than the pay-per-view sales, the truth is that because so many people will steal the signal, the total viewership of the main card will be higher.
Having a hyped prospect like Nickal kicking off the show with what could be a sensational finish is a good way to get people to tune in. At DraftKings, Nickal is -125 to win by submission and is +120 to win by submission in the first round.
"I'm on the pay-per-view for a reason," Nickal said. "The UFC is a business at the end of the day and we're looking to make money and we're looking to sell pay-per-views. You know, if I didn't sell pay-per-views, I wouldn't be where I'm at. At the same time, it's a partnership and I want to go out there and perform the way I expect to and show there was a reason I was put in that spot."
Nickal has had an extraordinary athletic career, but MMA represents his last chance to reach the absolute pinnacle. He is one of only 50 Division I collegiate wrestlers to win three NCAA championships, but as a freshman, he was runner-up. That denied him a shot to be a four-time NCAA champion, of which there are still only five.
He went to the finals of the Olympic Trials in 2021 for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but lost to eventual gold medalist David Taylor.
He's a guy who loves MMA and has fully immersed himself in it. His transition has been extraordinarily quick, and he's more comfortable in all aspects of the game. Should he defeat Brundage on Saturday, he will likely be facing ranked opponents next.
Then is when it's really on. The chase for a championship -- or championships, precisely -- will be on. MMA gives Nickal, much like ex-Olympic team captain Daniel Cormier, a chance to scale Mount Everest.
"There were things I wanted to accomplish that I wasn't able to but I think it gives me that extra motivation to continue to want to improve and get better," Nickal said. "But when I look back on my experiences, there was a lot of value and a lot of lessons learned. ... I appreciate my losses. They still hurt. They still sting, but I have taken a lot from them and it's a part of my life that's helped me."