Ahead of his anticipated return at UFC 314 in Miami, unbeaten prospect Bo Nickal has shared a humbling experience from his wrestling days, recalling his match against Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian – an Iranian wrestler with a fearsome reputation.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Nickal described how he went into the match without fully knowing his opponent’s credentials:
They didn’t really warn me who this dude (Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian) was.
I had wrestled this number one [wrestler] Iranian guy a few months earlier, so I was like: “I’m gonna smash this dude, I don’t even give a cr*p.’”
But from the very start, Nickal realized he was in for a completely different challenge:
This dude comes out, he’s like two inches taller than me, jacked as hell.
And does a forward roll, squat jump and his feet are like over my head, and I’m like: “What the hell is going on here?”Single leg, took me down, and he k*lled me.
It’s the only time I’ve ever wrestled a match where I really got whipped.
Nickal later learned just how experienced his opponent was.
The coaches were, like: “Oh yeah, this guy was like world silver medalist five years ago, but the last five years he got banned so he hadn’t competed in five years, he’s just been freakin’ training.
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