LAS VEGAS — UFC President Dana White believes in Bo Nickal’s abilities as a fighter but still wasn’t ready to hand him a UFC contract Tuesday night.
In the feature match of Dana White’s Contender Series 49, Nickal stepped into the cage for the second time as a professional fighter and made short work of his opponent Zack Borrego by hitting him with a rear naked choke in just over a minute.
Typically, that kind of performance is almost a guarantee of a UFC contract with DWCS, but Nickal’s lack of experience as a pro made White pause when it came time to issue contracts at the end of the show.
“He’s 1-0 now, 2-0, fought a kid who was 3-0, made it look really easy,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight press conference. “Let’s give him one more fight and test him. (If he) comes through this with flying colors, we’ll bring him in and we’ll give him a fight in the UFC.
I think only one guy came in 1-0 and did anything and I think it was Brock (Lesnar) and to be honest I can’t remember. Brock was like that. So yes, he is a stud.”
Nickal entered his DWCS bout with a lot of hype given his credentials as a three-time NCAA Division I champion wrestler. That decked out background is one of the main reasons he got the opportunity to fight for a shot at the UFC after just one professional fight.
“I don’t know what else he could have done to look better,” White said. “He looked amazing. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is because he’s 2-0 now. … We still have eight weeks of it. Why doesn’t he let him fight here again, you know what I mean? It just makes sense.”
Rather than renewing a UFC contract with Nickal, White will bring Nickal back for a second fight at DWCS later this season. If he wins the second fight, he will be UFC middleweight, according to White.