Nickal used his wrestling — and then his fists — to score a win at the White House
Bo Nickal made it two-for-two on knockouts to kick off UFC Freedom 250. Nickal used his wrestling early before a right hand put Kyle Daukaus on the ground, allowing Nickal to drop punches for the first round stoppage on the White House South Lawn.
The two men threw punches at the same time, but Nickal was able to duck under Daukaus’ punch and secure a takedown. Daukaus grabbed full guard and tried to fish for an armbar, only to be met with some ground and pound from Nickal.
A Nickal elbow opened a cut on Daukaus’ forehead above his left eye. Daukaus locked in a body triangle and tried to continue to control Nickal’s posture, but Nickal was content to sit on top and work short punches to the body and head. Nickal was also able to posture up and continue to drop hard elbows before an odd decision by the referee to stand the fighters up.
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Daukaus tried to walk forward and throw straight punches and leg kicks to utilize his length advantage, but Nickal landed a big right hand that put Daukaus down. Nickal followed Daukaus to the ground and dropped right hands until the fight was stopped.
The finish came at the 4:34 mark of Round 1.
“I visualized about 100 different ways to finish that guy and that was one of them,” Nickal said after the win. “Hard work pays off. I’m a wrestler but I’ve learned how to do different things. I’m going to keep going and keep improving.”
