UFC 290: Bo Nickal needed 38 seconds to beat Val Woodburn

Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) showed off his hands when he rocked and dropped Woodburn (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in just 38 seconds on Saturday. The middleweight bout opened up the UFC 290 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Nickal stunned Woodburn with a right hook, followed by a left hook, then an uppercut that dropped the octagon newcomer. One follow-up shot is all Nickal needed to end the fight in spectacular fashion.

One of the most exciting prospects to compete in MMA in years, Nickal is an accomplished amateur wrester with three NCAA Division I titles and a U23 world championship to his name. After coming up just short of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic team, he transitioned to MMA and has looked absolutely dominant, scoring four first-round finishes in his first four fights. He now looks to make it five for five and, should he get beyond Woodburn, make a statement that he deserves a step up in competition,

Nickal has never lacked confidence throughout his career. But, he did have second thoughts about taking on Woodburn, who is a last-second fill-in after previously scheduled foe Tresean Gore backed out earlier this week due to injury. But, just as he did at Penn State, Nickal (4-0 in MMA, 1-0 in UFC) decided he was up for any challenge, and thus the pay-per-view date with Woodburn (7-0, 0-0) was set on short notice.

Nickal tagged Woodburn with a right hook that stunned him, followed with a right hook, and then used a well-placed uppercut to send him tumbling to the canvas.

A late-notice replacement for Tresean Gore, not much is expected out of Woodburn tonight, given his opponent. That being said, the Jamaican fighter is also undefeated in MMA at 7-0 and has faced some extremely experience competition. Will it be enough to pull off one of the biggest betting upsets in UFC history, though?

“There’s just going to be that expectation that’s set,” Nickal told MMA Junkie. “I’m 4-0 with four first-round finishes and people want to see me fail. A lot of people want to see me win and just a lot of expectations.

“For me, I’m just going out there to perform to the best of my ability. Whether that’s a first-round finish or that’s a decision, that’s not really of concern. I’m just going out there to do my best and everything else will take care of itself.”

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 Sarah H

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