UFC 285 results: Bo Nickal makes quick work of Jamie Pickett with ...
Bo Nickal lived up to the hype with a lightning quick submission to get his first win inside the octagon at UFC 285.
The three-time NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion had all eyes on him heading into his fight as the biggest favorite on the entire card and Nickal proved he deserved that level of respect. He only needed a single takedown to effectively suffocate Jamie Pickett on the ground before wrapping up an arm-triangle choke that led to his first UFC finish.
The end came at 2:54 in the first round after Pickett succumbed to the pressure and tapped out from the submission.
“I feel at home,” Nickal said afterwards. “I’ve been training my whole like for this. I train every day so I can come out here and dominate and that’s what I did. I’m just going to keep getting better.
“You better bet your ass I’m getting that belt and I’ll be the pound-for-pound best fighter before my career is done.”
It took less than 30 seconds for Nickal to close the distance, snatch a leg and look to take the fight down to the canvas. Nickal was relentless as he made a quick transition to take the back as he began looking for a rear naked choke before moving to an arm triangle choke attempt.
Pickett was desperately holding on to try and prevent Nickal from locking on the submission as the hold kept getting tighter and tighter.
Some inexperience showed in Nickal’s execution as he preferred to maintain control on top rather than jumping off to the side to fully lock in the submission but in the end it really didn’t matter. Nickal’s grip was so tight that he just locked up the arm-triangle choke and Pickett was finally forced to tap out.
Now 4-0 in his career, Nickal has an incredibly high ceiling to reach in MMA, although there’s no rush to get to the top of the division as he gets more experience while adding more fights to his resume.
One thing is for certain, Nickal will have everybody’s attention as he continues making his rise up the ranks in the middleweight division.
