Having hosted a UFC PPV every year since New York lifted its ban on the sport, Madison Square Garden has borne witness to some of the most iconic fights in MMA history. But nothing beats the first one from November 12, 2016, when Conor McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez for his first lightweight title. UFC’s up-and-coming star Bo Nickal agrees.
Speaking to Submission Radio, the middleweight fighter praised the ‘crazy’ event and claimed that while he didn’t watch it in person, the vibes were simply off the charts for that one.
“The only one that comes to my mind… McGregor fought Alvarez there I’m pretty sure. That was just a crazy crazy event.”
That event marked a historic moment for Conor McGregor as he became the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in the UFC.
He did it in spectacular fashion as well. Alvarez had been an exemplary fighter until that point in his career. His ground game was something out of a dream and he had the striking to match it. On most days, he would have and should have won that fight.
But as the luck of the Irish would have it, McGregor would toy with him on the night. The ‘Notorious’ moved around and found angles to pick him apart. He would come forward and jab him, then evade one of Alavarez’s punches, and hit him while he was at it.
At one point, McGregor put both his hands behind his back as a show of how little confidence he had in Alvarez’s ability to actually hit him. Funnily enough, Alvarez could have tried to take the fight to the ground, but perhaps it was the weight of the occasion and he just never tried.
At 3:04 seconds in the 2nd round, the referee would step in after the Irishman put a beating on the former champion. McGregor would then famously go on to “apologize to absolutely nobody” because ‘the double champ does what he wants’.
So, Nickal is bang on the money on this choice! However, there’s still the matter of his choice of future in the UFC. While his name makes garners a lot of noise, the middleweight is rather picky and choosy about when he actually fights.
Nickal reveals ‘ideal’ future in the UFC
As a former collegiate athlete and a dominant wrestler, he has all the qualities to become a great fighter. And if his first 2 fights in the UFC are an indication of what is to come, that is a world champion in the making; ‘in the making’ being the important keywords.
Despite his prowess on the matt, Nickal needs to be able to transfer them effectively in the octagon, something he still has to work on, given that his opponents will have an arsenal of weapons to use against him.
But Nickal is not worried. He wants to be a champion and he wants to get there at his own pace.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, he reveals the roadmap for his future and says,
“I win one or two more fights, then I’m fighting a ranked guy, then I’m fighting a top five, then I’m fighting for the belt….I’m already past the halfway point.”
Once a fighter gets into the rankings, things actually begin to change, the difficulty levels compound with each fight. And if they manage to make it to the top 5, it’s the wild west. Any of the top 5 ranked guys in every weight class could fight and beat the champion on their day. So Nickal wants to ensure that when that day comes, he’s ready enough to make it look easy and comfortable.
