Bo Nickal recalls getting ragdolled by Iran’s top wrestler: ‘What the Hell is going on?’
Ahead of his expected return at UFC 314 in Miami, unbeaten prospect, Bo Nickal has reflected on the time he wrestled against Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian — considered the best amateur wrestling talent in Iran — claiming he had no idea what lay in store for him.
Nickal, who cracked the middleweight top-15 rankings in his last outing back in November at UFC 309, was forced the distance the first time in his four-fight Octagon tenure.
Taking on veteran Scottish grappling talent, Paul Craig, amateur wrestling superstar, Nickal showed off his striking acumen over the course of three rounds at Madison Square Garden, riding out a forgettable unanimous decision win to a chorus of boos and jeers in New York.
Bo Nickal reflects on time Iranian wrestler “whipped” him in grudge match
And linked with a potential comeback at UFC 314 in the coming months in a bid to work his way toward the title, footage has reemerged online of Nickal’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, in which he detailed his wrestling showdown with Iranian star, Hossein Mohammadian.
They didn’t really warn me who this dude (Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian) was,” Bo Nickal told long-time UFC color-commentator, Joe Rogan. “I was wrestling this Iranian dude — I had wrestled this number one [wrestler] Iranian guy a few months earlier, so was like, ‘I’m gonna smash this dude, I don’t even give a crap.’
“This dude comes out, he’s like two inches taller than me, jacked as hell,” Bo Nickal explained. “And does a forward roll, squat jump and his feet are like over my head, and I’m like, ‘What the Hell is going on here?’ Single leg, took me down, and he killed me. It’s the only time I’ve ever wrestled a match where I really got whipped. He came down from probably like 235 [pounds].
“He was way bigger than me,” Bo Nickal continued. “Then the coaches were like, ‘Oh yeah, this guy was like world silver medalist five years ago, but the last five years he got banned so he hadn’t competed in five years, he’s just been freakin’ training.’ So then, world championship that year comes along and now they’re getting tested, and he like 0-1 — I was like, ‘Yeah, alright.'”
