Bo Nickal got back on track in epic fashion after delivering a vicious head kick knockout to finish Rodolfo Vieira in the featured prelim at UFC 322.
A body shot from Reinier de Ridder handed Nickal the first loss of his career, but the Penn State alum came back with a vengeance on Saturday. After outstriking Vieira for the better part of two rounds, Nickal saw an opening to unleash a devastating head kick that connected and sent the former grappling champion crashing to the canvas in a heap. There was no follow-up shot necessary, with the end coming at 2:24 in the third round.
“That’s the game,” Nickal said after his win. “I’ve lost a lot since I was a kid, but I always bounce back. I always keep coming. We’re on ESPN so I can’t curse but frick you motherfrickers for booing me and then cheering me. Figure it out. Either love me or hate me, pick one. I’ll be honest, I get a little fired up about it but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The fight started fast, with Nickal grabbing a body lock and throwing Vieira to the ground in under a minute. He then began unleashing punches in succession, staying on the attack while Vieira played defense to avoid absorbing too much damage. Vieira eventually broke free and got back to his feet, but blood was trickling down the side of his face after Nickal clipped him with a slick inside elbow against the cage.
On the restart in round two, Vieira actually cracked Nickal with a hard right hand, but the former NCAA champion wrestler fired back with a nasty body kick. As the round progressed, Nickal showed increasing confidence in his striking, connecting with solid combinations while Vieira’s face became a bloody mess.
With less than a minute remaining in the round, Nickal uncorked a perfectly timed left hook that blasted Vieira and wobbled the Brazilian. He followed with another combination but didn’t overexert himself, careful not to give Vieira a chance to counter if Nickal got overaggressive.
Nickal continued to chip away with a good lead jab, while Vieira hesitated to throw much of anything as the fight began slipping away from him. That’s when Nickal saw the opening for the head kick out of nowhere. He blasted Vieira with the strike, ending the fight in dramatic fashion.
While losing was never part of his plan, Nickal learned from that setback and returned even better than before. With this knockout win, he improved his overall record to 8-1.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/ufc-322-video-bo-nickal-030813597.html
