A red-headed three-time NCAA D1 Champion has answered Ryan Garcia’s prayers. The young boxer is looking to make the move to the UFC amidst his ban from boxing. The only thing missing for him was a coach who could teach him how to wrestle with the proper techniques so Bo Nickal offered to help.
Nickal is an unbeaten upcoming MMA prodigy who has captured the attention of UFC fans. He is a highly skilled wrestler with multiple National and World titles so there’s no better person for Garcia to learn from.
Earlier in June, the New York State Athletic Commission had banned ‘KingRy’ for an entire year after testing positive for a PED. Since then, Garcia has thrown a few tantrums claiming he was done with boxing.
Garcia has been seen training wrestling with his brother but if he is to step into the octagon, the Mexican boxer will need to do much more. And this is where Nickal wants to come in and help. In a Twitter post, the All-American wrestler assured Garcia that he didn’t need to worry:
“I gotchu bro @RyanGarcia”
I gotchu bro @RyanGarcia https://t.co/RtBWwv4ICq
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) July 8, 2024
The striking part of MMA is not something he will be overly concerned with since he’s an excellent boxer. He will need to learn to use his legs but given his expertise at boxing, that will not be a considered a matter of crisis in the Garcia household.
But Garcia is far from the only exciting newcomer in MMA. There is another young man that both Nickal and MMA journalist Ariel Helwani are willing to bet on.
Payton Talbott continues to impress
The UFC analyst and MMA Hour Podcast host has spoken at length with Talbott and knows him very well now. But following his UFC 303 performance, Helwani has been particularly taken by the young man’s exceptional talent.
He went on X to talk about how if he had to buy stocks on any UFC fighter with less than 5 fights, he would bet it all on Talbott. Nickal agreed.
“Honestly, me too. He is sick.”
Honestly, me too. He is sick. https://t.co/1efvTA41zU
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) June 30, 2024
Fans are already comparing Talbott to the likes of Sean O’Malley, the bantamweight champion. Besides, Talbott also has the ambitions of defeating Jon Jones’ 13-year-old record of becoming the youngest ever UFC champion and he still has 4 years to do it in.
So it’s definitely in the realm of possibility. That said, these are still early days and fans will have to wait and see how the young fighter performs against higher ranked opponents,
