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Nickal is scheduled to fight Kyle Daukaus (17-4) in a middleweight clash on the UFC White House card on June 14. Like many of Nickal’s previous bookings on high-profile cards, some fans believe he didn’t deserve a spot on the iconic seven-fight White House show.
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Nickal (8-1) tries not to take criticism lobbed towards him personally, noting that while he transitioned into MMA in 2021, he has been toiling hard on the wrestling mats for most of his life. Nickal does not entirely understand the hatred cast his way, as he doesn’t call the shots regarding his matchmaking. The wrestler claims he has accepted every matchup that the UFC has offered him so far. Nickal said in an interview with the UFC:
“I mean, it’s natural for people to just be jealous in general. I think a lot of people think that I haven’t earned this spot. What they don’t realize is that I have been working at my craft and dedicated to it since five years old. And they kind of discount all of that work and effort that I put into wrestling and other combat sports, that I was able to build a big following and have a lot of success… It’s a little odd to me because I’m not the one that makes the decisions on where I’m at in the card or what cards I’m fighting at. Of course, I can say, like, ‘Hey, I would like to fight on this card, I would like to fight on that card.’ But since I’ve gotten to the UFC, all I have done is, they tell me when I’m fighting and who I’m fighting, and I say, ‘Let’s go.’”
Nickal is a former three-time NCAA Division-I champion wrestler from Penn State. The uber-prospect had to prove himself twice on Dana White’s Contender Series with first-round finishes to earn a UFC contract in 2022. Nickal finished three of his first four UFC wins before his hype train was derailed by former One Championship double champ Reinier de Ridder last year. Nickal has since rebounded with a brutal head kick knockout of Rodolfo Vieira.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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