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Since going pro in 2022, Bo Nickal has had one heck of a time getting opponents to sign up for a wrestler with the ability to control the cage at will without breaking a sweat who also possesses, “now where did that come from??” power. Add in a submission game that has ended three fights in under five minutes combined and you’ve got a problem in the cage.

The problems in the cage have resulted in problems for Nickal outside of the cage. Still, through it all, the “anybody, any time, any place” mentality of the Hodge Trophy winner with the machine that is UFC matchmaking has kept Nickal busy, putting up a 5-0 professional record in under two years of experience.

If you took the UFC out of it, what would you have? You’d probably have something similar to Cassar’s forced sabbatical.

“We planned to fight in March and that obviously fell through and couldn’t find anybody,” Cassar said. “A couple of guys said yes and then pulled out, so I didn’t end up fighting in March but I treated it like I was going to. I made 205, prepared professionally just in case anyone last minute said yes and then treated it just like I competed. I took a week off, got back to training and was going to fight again in June. Same thing happened we had a bunch of promotions looking and got closer and closer and was confident that I was going to find something because we had most promotions in the nation looking and nothing came of it.”

For Nickal, it’s almost as difficult to watch Cassar sit on the sidelines while his own career continues to explode. If it weren’t for John Gianatasio stepping in, Nickal may have been ranked in the UFC before Cassar’s sophomore bout.

“We definitely would have liked to get a couple more fights in at this point, but that wasn’t the way it worked out,” Nickal explained. “It is very difficult to see the guy who’s my best friend and my number one training partner have so many fights turned down and have a pause or delay in the process, but I know how mentally strong [Cassar] is.”

Part of what makes the process so difficult for Nickal is knowing that keeping Cassar out of the cage isn’t saving him from a poor performance off the heels of a long layoff. There’s been way too much mat time clocked for Nickal to be convinced Cassar has let time off soften the corners.

“There’s definitely no issue with ring rust,” Nickal said. “At the end of the day, we’ve all competed a lot. Anthony is a competitor.”

The double-edged sword of it all is just how much Nickal has watched Cassar improve, so much that the masterclass he plans to put on at Fury Challenger Series 8 is potentially threatening enough to sideline him for another year.

“I think what’s most interesting about this fight is that long layoff, and when you are so early in your career you can just make big jumps and improvements,” Nickal said. “He’s just improving and getting better, and really all we focus on at the end of the day as a team is getting better every day and improving and the results will come. When he has an opportunity now to go show all those improvements and go out there and perform in front of the world, he’s going to be make the most of that.”

All Nickal and Cassar can do now is do the work in and out of the cage and put their faith in Fury FC’s hands. Fury FC President Eric Garcia found him a fight when nobody else could, now it’s time to trust the Houston-based hotbed and fight his way into Dana Whire’s eyes.

The Penn State legend believes strongly if Fury continues to give him opponents, he’ll continue to give light heavyweights and heavyweights problems.

Catch the return of Anthony Cassar at Fury Challenger Series 8 FOR FREE on UFC FIGHT PASS Facebook and YouTube channels Sunday, October 22!

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