“A lot of times the community can’t get out of their own way,” Mineo said. “We need to be showing support. Some people in the wrestling community are like, ‘He hasn’t fought anyone. Let’s see him get hit!’ and it’s like, wait a minute, why don’t you understand the process? I think the tide with the rest of the wrestling community will change when he’s in the UFC and they see him still out there knocking people out. Then maybe they’ll keep their mouth shut or be like, ‘I’ve loved Bo Nickal since he was at Penn State!’”
Ireland wasn’t divided on Conor McGregor when he became the most famous name in MMA, and now every fighter out of Ireland gets a second look as a result. If NCAA fans stood behind Nickal, the wrestlers turned fighters of the future just may get the same treatment.
Watch Bo Nickal’s Dana White’s Contender Series Debut
While it’s unlikely the wrestling community, on its own, will ever put their university allegiances aside and band together, the perfect monkey wrench may have just been thrown into the equation.
After Nickal’s DWCS domination, longtime UFC light heavyweight and fan favorite Anthony Smith was very vocal about the hype around Nickal.
“… the reason Bo Nickal is in MMA is because he wasn’t good enough to make an Olympic team,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me Podcast.
The comment set off almost all 25,000+ members of Mineo’s page and has stitched together the torn fanbase.
