Nickal theorizes why he believes it’s no coincidence that he, Jimmy Lawson, Bravo-Young and many more have interest in fighting. To be a perfect wrestler means to be a perfect combat athlete.
“I think that the kind of correlation has to do with all of us being very interested in fighting and MMA and just kind of wanting to be a well-rounded martial artist per se,” Nickal said. “Just because, for us, the way we train and compete, I would definitely say that we are more open minded and creative than more wrestling styles with how other programs train and compete.”
Subscribe To UFC Fight Pass Today!
Bravo-Young has made it very clear that when he’s completely lost the spark in wrestling, fighting is up next. He’s never had subpar expectations of himself and Nickal explains that his FPI matchup against a top ten UFC flyweight proves that. He’s never going to ask for the easy route. As nice as an easy paycheck is, that’s never been the reason Bravo-Young has always been a step or two ahead of the competition.
It isn’t worth the trip if it isn’t adding weapons to his arsenal.
“More importantly than anything, it kind of aligns with our goals,” Nickal said. “Our goals are to be world champions in whatever sport we are in and a lot of people want to be world champions in MMA, and so getting into grappling and competing against high level grapplers is a great way to take another step towards that ultimate goal.”
Do not miss the submission grappling debut of Penn State legend Roman Bravo-Young at the FIGHT PASS Invitational 4, LIVE Thursday, June 29, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
