Bo Nickal entered Saturday night’s fight at Madison Square Garden with a point to prove.
Nickal (8-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) arrived at UFC 322 coming off the first loss of his professional career after being finished by Reinier de Ridder in May. The Penn State wrestling standout delivered his best performance since joining the UFC, knocking out Rodolfo Vieira with a brutal head kick in the final round.
Nickal has always been a polarizing figure, and many fans at MSG booed the 29-year-old both before and after his win. During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Nickal fired back at some of the jeers.
“Yeah, (I was) feeling like I had something to prove,” Nickal told reporters during his post-fight media scrum. “I have a chip on my shoulder. I wish that I was a little bit better person, but I’m not. I’m very competitive and I’m just a guy.
“So I’m out here trying to do my best but you get a little emotional out there when you’re fighting in your underwear in front of millions of people.”
In a surprising move, Nickal leapt up onto the side of the Octagon immediately after the win to flip off the fans in the arena. He revealed afterwards that the move was born out of frustration at how the fans had treated him.
“I felt like I was just standing up for myself a little bit,” Nickal explained. “They’re going to jaw at me and give me crap, then give it back a little bit. I don’t look at it as anything other than just standing up for myself a little bit. It’s not personal at all. It’s just letting them know how I feel.”
