Tag: Donovan Beard

Video: Bo Nickal runs through CFFC champ Donovan Beard in 52 seconds to earn UFC contract

UFC president Dana White said the only note he wrote down during Bo Nickal’s fight was, “God damn.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] entered Dana White’s Contender Series 56 with a ton of hype – and likely left with even more.

In the final bout of DWCS, Season 6, Nickal (3-0 MMA) trucked through CFFC middleweight champion [autotag]Donovan Beard[/autotag] (7-2) for a triangle choke submission at the 0:52 mark of Round 1.

The fight came and went in the blink of an eye. Nickal landed a left hand that floored Beard to the canvas. From there, Nickal entered directly into mount. As Beard wiggled to escape, Nickal pulled guard and wrapped his legs upward. The squeeze was tight and the tap was quick.

The win earned Nickal a UFC contract after his second attempt on Dana White’s Contender Series. In August, Nickal submitted Zack Borrego in 62 seconds. The two DWCS victories come after a successful 31-second knockout in his pro debut for iKon FC.

Spotlighted long before his MMA career kicked off, Nickal was a three-time Division-I national champion and three-time Big Ten conference champion for Penn State. He won a national championship and an under-23 world championship, both in 2019 in the 92kg (202.8-pound) weight class. He finished college with a 120-3 record, including a combined 61-0 record in his junior and senior years.

In 2019, Nickal earned the 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy, an accolade awarded to the nation’s best wrestler. He also twice won the Schalles Award, an honor given to the nation’s best pinner. In addition, in 2019 he was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Nickal is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and trains at American Top Team in South Florida.

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Dana White’s Contender Series 56: Best photos

Check out these photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 56 in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 56 which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Hedges, UFC)

Dana White’s Contender Series 56 live results

Follow along with live results of Dana White’s Contender Series 56 from UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene reporting live from Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 56 event.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

The tenth and final week of the sixth season will see 10 fighters compete for their shot at a UFC contract. In the feature bout, highly-touted middleweight prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] (2-0) returns for his second appearance this season to take on [autotag]Donovan Beard[/autotag] (7-1).

The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams live on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 56 include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Bo Nickal vs. Donovan Beard
  • Vinicius Cenci vs. Sam Patterson
  • Jack Jenkins vs. Freddy Emiliano Linares
  • Joao Elias vs. Rafael Ramos Estevam
  • Ashiek Ajim vs. Mateus Mendonca

Continue reading below for more details about each fight.

Bo Nickal gets opponent for second Dana White’s Contender Series fight on Sept. 27

Bo Nickal will return to action on the Season 6 finale of Dana White’s Contender Series.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] will return to action on the Season 6 finale of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Nickal, the highly touted three-time NCAA Division 1 national wrestling champion, is set for his third professional fight at Dana White’s Contender Series 57, which takes place Sept. 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Standing across the octagon from Nickal (2-0) will be [autotag]Donovan Beard[/autotag] (6-1), who will attempt to pull off a monumental upset over arguably the top prospect in the sport.

The UFC announced the matchup during Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 41 broadcast.

Many believed Nickal, 27, should’ve been shoehorned immediately into the UFC after a 62-second submission win at DWCS 49 this past week.

UFC boss White, however, said he felt it was best to get Nickal another fight on this season of his series.

“I don’t know what else he could have done to look any better,” White said. “He looked incredible. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is because he’s 2-0 now. … We got eight more weeks of this. Why not have him fight here again, you know what I mean? It just makes sense.”

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