Not ranked: Bo Nickal VS Cody Brundage
Bo Nickal against Cody Brundage does not really deserve to be rated whatsoever when pitted against all of these top contender and champion fight on UFC 300. Nickal is one of the best American collegiate wrestlers of the 21st century, having won three national titles and gotten to the finals in every year of his eligibility, but this fight feels like a lateral move at best, or even a step back after his first two UFC fights. He is currently the biggest betting favorite in UFC history at 25-1 odds. His developing striking showcased in his last fight can possibly knock out someone with an average chin and poor striking like Brundage, but if that fails he can easily have his way on the mats with Cody just like much worse wrestlers and top players have recently. All he has to do is not get DQ’ed for an illegal elbow to the back of the head like Jacob Malkoun, who otherwise displayed the easy path to victory against Brundage.
The fight is obviously on the main card solely because it will draw amateur wrestling fans, a largely different audience than MMA fans, to buy the pay-per-view, but based on merit alone it does not deserve this prestigious card placement, and is far and away the worst fight on the card no matter how much potential Bo Nickal has. And he truly does have champion level potential; his striking is continuing to improve apace, his submission grappling is good for his inexperience, and being one of the best wrestlers in the country right now means he came into the UFC with a golden ticket already in hand for a sport where wrestlers can dominate with the right tactics. His style of wrestling is especially suited to MMA as well, which is why most fans would like to see him tested more than this in his third UFC fight, because this fight likely will teach us nothing new about one of the most promising prospects in the sport.
