Jorge Masvidal’s last fight was at UFC 251, where he faced Kamaru Usman and lost to him via unanimous decision. Now, ‘Gamebred’ is all set to face the UFC welterweight champion in a rematch at the UFC 261 main-event. Usman is a great wrestler, while Masvidal is more efficient in boxing and kickboxing. Hence, ahead of his fight with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, Jorge Masvidal looked to polish his wrestling.

To achieve this objective, the UFC’s BMF trained with Bo Nickal from Penn State. Nickal is one of the best collegiate-level wrestlers in the country and has been the most dangerous wrestler in the NCAA for four years.

Why is Jorge Masvidal training with Bo Nickal?

When Kamaru Usman and Masvidal first faced each other, the champion had a simple game plan to limit the striking exchanges. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ wanted to keep Masvidal pinned to the cage, even if that meant limiting his own striking options.

Usman’s wrestling superiority over Masvidal was clear in the first fight, and that is why the challenger turned to Nickal for help. ‘Gamebred’ revealed how he knew about Nickal.

He said, “I was in Madison Square Garden in New York. Bo was actually competing there, he’s competing at 174 pounds I think, and he ended up taking a second, a close second man. The guy’s such a stud and I knew then, I was like, man, this kid’s special…his style of wrestling, I love it.”

Nickal has been great for the last four years and has been completely dominant in the collegiate wrestling scene. Hence, he could be decisive to his teammate’s path to the welterweight gold.

Also Read: ‘Kamaru is Gonna Dominate’- Manager Gives His Prediction for Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal Rematch

How training with Bo Nickal will help Masvidal?

Working with Nickal will help Masvidal improve his close combat skills and would help the BMF in dealing with takedowns. The NCAA champion is one of the best wrestlers out there and it shows that ‘Gamebred’ is serious about making the most of his full-length fight camp for Usman vs Masvidal 2.

Focusing on these little wrestling details will help ‘Gamebred’ against Usman. Furthermore, the knowledge of this may help fans know that the fight could be competitive. It would be very interesting if a collegiate star can prove to be the brains behind ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s downfall.