UFC 285 results, highlights: Bo Nickal shines in debut with first-round submission of Jamie Pickett

The Bo Nikal era began as the bookmakers had expected on Saturday with a dominant first round submission.

Nical (4-0), a three-time Pennsylvania Division I national champion, took just under three minutes to strike in his first UFC fight, submitting Jamie Pickett via triangle choke to kick off the UFC 285 prize-card-per-view at T- Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

An injury last fall delayed Nikal’s promotional debut in December, just months after he picked up a pair of Dana White Contender Series victories and signed with the UFC. The delay only helped create more buzz for his first fight in the UFC, one of the most anticipated debuts in the octagon in recent memory, and the 27-year-old Colorado native did not disappoint in terms of expected one-sided dominance. heavy favourite.

Nikal slipped in the opening seconds after missing a wild kick attempt, but he met Pickett (13-9) in the clinch and knocked him down with a front header. Quickly taking Pickett’s back, Nikal tried his best to secure a choke hold, but took his time—changing the hold twice—before getting hit at 2:54 of the first round.

“I feel right at home. I have been preparing for this all my life,” Nikal said. “I feel like I was born and raised and I train every day to come out here and dominate and that’s what I did.”

Nickal, who also won the Dan Hodge Trophy at Penn State in 2019 as the nation’s most outstanding collegiate wrestler (as well as Big Ten Sportsman of the Year awards), showed an incredible combination of confidence and advanced technique despite only making a full working day. transition to MMA at the end of 2021.

“As for me, I’m 4-0 and 27 years old, I’m young,” Nikal said. “I’ve been in MMA for a year and a half now and I’m on the main UFC pay-per-view card. It’s fucking crazy.”

Pickett, 34, has lost for the third time in a row and has fallen to 2-5 overall since his UFC debut in 2020.

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