Bo Nickal to start MMA after 2020 olympics

Wrestling world championships is definitely not the same as winning the Olympics
 
You always hear this shit from wrestlers (+ bjj guys), but mostly nothing comes.

Many elite wrestlers in russia dont even try MMA, cuz its not worth the risk aka money.

Barboza made 100.000$ vs Lee

CTE ftw.
yeah but Bo wont be on his back getting GNPd for 20 minutes. Bo will be the one putting people on his back. A lot of elite folkstyle guys dont take a lot of damage. Askren for 20 seconds took damage but outside of that his career has been smooth sailing. Made Lima and Koreshkov look like children
 
Bo is an absolute animal. This is great news.
 
Askren for 20 seconds took damage but outside of that his career has been smooth sailing.

you mean vs lawler?

i only watched 3-4 fights, but it took me 2 seconds ... lol
Askren.jpg

mask3.jpg
 
Don't follow wrestling but always find this sort of discussion interesting. So no one in the UFC has ever won 4 (or even 3) national D1 titles before? Looks like Askren had 2. I believe Koscheck had only 1, surprisingly.

Only 4 people ever have won 4 D1 titles. None of them have fought MMA.

Jake Rosholt won 3 and had a few fights in the UFC. His brother Jared surprisingly had a better MMA career, but maybe that's because HW is so thin.

Mark Schultz won 3 titles and had one UFC fight.

Ed Ruth won 3 and fights in Bellator.

Stephen Abas won 3 and then an Olympic silver medal before turning to MMA. Went 3-0, then retired. Too bad.
 
definitely pretty close lol

Not in a non-Olympic weight during an Olympic year like Steiber did. His performance in subsequent Worlds back me on this one.

Back to the topic, Bo's mom was an amateur boxer who trained out of Jackson Wink. Bo will be a stud when he comes over.
 
Wrestled at 197 this past year but could have easily made 184. He bumped up to give his teammate a better shot. He'd be a big MW imo. He's 6'2".

I don’t know anything about wrestling but I can appreciate it, and he looks pretty damn ferocious. I’m intrigued.

Apparently his mom was a good college basketball player, and subsequently trained at Jackson-Wink and had a few amateur boxing matches. So according to her he’s already been exposed training MMA to some degree at least. She says something about him participating in a kids BJJ tourney. Not a big deal, but shows he has interest in it.

http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/26424694/more-college-wrestlers-fighting-on
 
Only 4 people ever have won 4 D1 titles. None of them have fought MMA.

Jake Rosholt won 3 and had a few fights in the UFC. His brother Jared surprisingly had a better MMA career, but maybe that's because HW is so thin.

Mark Schultz won 3 titles and had one UFC fight.

Ed Ruth won 3 and fights in Bellator.

Stephen Abas won 3 and then an Olympic silver medal before turning to MMA. Went 3-0, then retired. Too bad.

Oh, right. Schultz. That's a crazy story (of which I only really know because I randomly watched Foxcatcher one lazy Sunday morning).
 
The heavyweight from Penn State who won in 2019 is going into MMA as well. Cant recall his name but he bulked up from 197 to about 250 and beat Steveson twice.
 
http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/26424694/more-college-wrestlers-fighting-on


Bo Nickal, a 3x D1 champion and 4x All-American will start training for MMA after 2020 olympics. He states it's nice knowing wrestlers always have that path after college. Ben Askren personally believes Bo IS NOT good enough @ freestyle to go through the olympics (folkstyle to freestyle is definitely a tough transition). But Bo would certainly be the best collegiate wrestler in the UFC by a decent margin, with accolades that usurp DC, Askren and Gillespie.

Bo's style would translate well considering he's elite at pummeling (good for cage pressing) , can defend every type of leg attack and is excellent with pins (generally good pinners do excellent mat work in the octagon i.e. Askren).


Another prospect is Logan Stieber who has shown interest, he would be by far the most decorated wrestler to enter the UFC considering he's a 4x D1 champ and a world gold medalist (on the same level as the olympics).


Would love to see Nickal vs Israel or Gastelum down the road if he competes at 185 (he probably could).
Eh it's a toss up for accolades between Askren to Nickal, sure he was a 3 time champion and 1 time runner up and has 1 Hodge trophy but Askren is a 2 time champion with 2 runner ups and 2 Hodge Trophies. Also, Askren also didn't fail to defend a Big 10 championship ever, like Nickal did his redshirt sophomore year. I don't believe Askren red shirted either.
 
Only 4 people ever have won 4 D1 titles. None of them have fought MMA.

Jake Rosholt won 3 and had a few fights in the UFC. His brother Jared surprisingly had a better MMA career, but maybe that's because HW is so thin.

Mark Schultz won 3 titles and had one UFC fight.

Ed Ruth won 3 and fights in Bellator.

Stephen Abas won 3 and then an Olympic silver medal before turning to MMA. Went 3-0, then retired. Too bad.
Should we include Karelin in this discussion with his 3 gold medals at the olympics and 1 silver medal?
 
Eh it's a toss up for accolades between Askren to Nickal, sure he was a 3 time champion and 1 time runner up and has 1 Hodge trophy but Askren is a 2 time champion with 2 runner ups and 2 Hodge Trophies. Also, Askren also didn't fail to defend a Big 10 championship ever, like Nickal did his redshirt sophomore year. I don't believe Askren red shirted either.

Askren never wrestled in the Big 10. Missouri is Big 12. BIG difference.
 
He was one of the most fun wrestlers to watch over the past few years in the NCAA.

Tho he, understandably, played it safe in the finals against someone he pinned earlier in the year.

Still, looking forward to his transition.
 
Askren never wrestled in the Big 10. Missouri is Big 12. BIG difference.


If i recall correctly, i know Ben Askren also won the Schalles trophy for most pins in a single season twice. Would you happen to know (or know where to find) precise numbers for the two? (Number of matches participated in vs number of pins gained, in particular.)
 
Don't follow wrestling but always find this sort of discussion interesting. So no one in the UFC has ever won 4 (or even 3) national D1 titles before? Looks like Askren had 2. I believe Koscheck had only 1, surprisingly.
Jake Rosholt and Mark Schultz won 3 NCAA titles, Hendricks 2, Askren 2, Randleman 2.
 
Wrestling world championships is definitely not the same as winning the Olympics
Olympics are considered more prestigious because they happen once every four years, as opposed to world championships which happen every year skipping olympic years. Also Olympics have less weight classes so each medal is more competitive.

That being said they are bassicly equal in value, at least in the wrestling world. Both have the highest level of competition and are held above all other tournaments as the ultimate internstional wrestling achievement.
 
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