Bo Nikkal says he is in the middle of his biggest career weight cut for his career fight.
The wrestling standout was when the MMA genius returned to the Octagon this Saturday to face former one championship title holder, Reiner de Ridder, in the UFC Des Moines co-main event.
Nikkal opened his eyes in an Instagram post earlier this week, revealing that he began his fight week at a whopping 222.6 pounds. The Pennsylvania wrestling legend was asked whether the numbers were realistic and whether it was incredible gamemanship ahead of the biggest test ever.
“The majority of my last camp in the last few months have been bulk,” Nikkal told MMA Fighting. “I felt that was something I wanted to focus on making my weight a little higher and making sure I was a full size middleweight.
“In wrestling, I weighed hundreds of times since I was a child. It’s business as usual for me. So it was definitely a little more than I was used to, but it was part of the job. No worries.
“It was a little heavier than I thought it would be, and I was wearing a hoodie and something like that, so it was a little less than what we saw on scale, but yeah, I knew there was a lot to do in the moment, but that’s part of the job again.”
Nikkal came out from a pay-per-view main card victory against Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New York City this November.
The 29-year-old was asked if this would be his biggest cut in his short MMA tenure this week.
“It’s certainly the biggest cut (for the fight),” Nikkal explained. “I think I’m always trying to adjust things and make sure they improve and get better at each camp and each training cycle. (Extra) size felt good for me.”
The top team standout in the US is octagonal 4-0 since signing a contract in the Dana White series. Nikkal also competed in the historic UFC 300 event in April 2024, stopping Cody Brandage with a submission in the second round.
When asked to update mid-weekly about his weight cut, Nikkal keeps the mystery to himself.
“Let’s say it’s a little lighter than what we were at earlier this week,” Nikkal said. “Yeah, I’m not at that weight anymore.”