UFC fighter Bo Nickal shares fond memories of Rio Rancho

Bo Nickal, UFC superstar in waiting — or maybe he’s already there — was asked what first comes to mind when “Rio Rancho, New Mexico,” is mentioned.

Is it the maturity he gained as a wrestler during the four years he and his family lived west of the Rio Grande (2006-10)? Was it his loss as a middle-school eighth grader, wrestling varsity for Rio Rancho High, to friendly Cleveland Storm rival Paul Mascarenas in the 103-pound state title match in 2010?

Think again.

“I just think about those Lotaburger green chile breakfast burritos,” he said.

Make no mistake, though. Nickal, who on Saturday fought against veteran Paul Craig on UFC 309 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, remembers fondly his time in Rio Rancho.

The people, not the burritos, come first.

“I really appreciate my time there, and I feel like it was great for me,” Nickal said from New York during a Zoom interview with the Journal last week. “I learned so much and met so many awesome people.”

Awesome is a word that aptly describes what Nickal has accomplished since the three-time Penn State NCAA wrestling champion made his MMA debut in June 2022. In six fights, five of them in UFC competition, only one of his six opponents has made it past the first round.

In his last outing, fighting on the main card of UFC 300, he stopped the far more experienced Cody Brundage (10-6) by second-round submission (rear naked choke).

So dominant has Nickal been that the oddsmakers listed him on Thursday as a minus-1000 favorite — meaning one would need to wager $1,000 on Nickal to get a payoff of $100 — against Craig (17-8-1).

Would he be where he is now, if not for his four years in Rio Rancho? Well, yes, probably so. Nonetheless, he said, his time in New Mexico not only enhanced his wrestling but pointed him in the direction of MMA.

New Mexico has that effect.

“It’s just part of the culture,” he said. “Everybody loves fighting, wants to fight. That’s where I really started to become a fan of (MMA).

“It wasn’t like ‘Oh, this is what I’m gonna do, I’ve decided.’ But it was in the back of my mind at that point.”

Nickal was already an accomplished wrestler, competing in youth tournaments at 75 pounds as a 10-year-old, when he and his family moved to Rio Rancho in 2006. His father, Jason Nickal, had accepted the job as RRHS head wrestling coach and would take the Rams to four consecutive Class 5A state titles.

The Nickals are an athletic family. Bo’s grandfather, Gary Nickal, was a Nebraska state wrestling champion. Jason Nickal played football for Chadron (Nebraska.) State. Sandy Nickal, Bo’s mother, played college basketball and was the girls basketball coach at Torrington (Wyoming) High School, where her husband was the wrestling coach, before the family moved to New Mexico.

Sandy Nickal, with no prior experience, also won an amateur bout at the 2006 “Rumble on the Rio” charity boxing card.

For Bo Nickal, losing the 2010 state title match to Macarenas was disappointing but made less so by the two young men’s friendship. That school year (2009-10) was Cleveland High School’s first year of existence, and Bo and Paul had been youth wrestling and football teammates in Rio Rancho.

Mascarenas, who would go on to become a four-time state champion, won the title match 6-4. They’d wrestled each other before, each beating the other.

“He and his family were good friends of ours,” Nickal said. “… I haven’t heard from Paul or seen him in a long time, but I hope he’s doing well.

“We need a rematch. He got me on our last one, so we need to run it back.”

After the 2009-10 season, Jason Nickal took a non-coaching job in Allen, Texas, a northern Dallas-Fort Worth suburb. Bo had the classic mixed feelings.

“I was so young, and I felt like, it’s tough to move and to leave friends and people you know,” he said. “But I was also excited just to experience something new and meet new people in a different place.

“I really loved and appreciated Albuquerque and Rio Rancho … but I was also excited for new opportunities and different types of cuisine, switching from Mexican food to barbecue.”

Nickal devoured the competition in Texas, winning three state titles for Allen High School before accepting a scholarship to Penn State. There, he won those three national titles (2017-19).

He competed internationally into 2021, turning to MMA after losing to fellow Penn State legend David Taylor in his bid for an Olympic berth.

Nickal said he’s stayed in touch with some of the people he met in Rio Rancho, in particular Mike Santos, who was an assistant to Jason Nickal at RRHS and succeeded him as Rams head coach.

Without prompting, Nickal ticked off the names of many of the kids with whom he shared the RRHS wrestling room: Louis Trujillo, Matt Nuñez, Zack Rogers, Shea Nolan, Jake Williams, as well as some from other schools.

“I’m sure I’m missing some people, there were so many,” he said. “… I think New Mexico wrestling as a whole is underrated,” he said. “There’s so many tough kids coming up.”

Since leaving Rio Rancho, Nickal hasn’t often gotten back. But as his blossoming MMA career permits, he hopes to do so.

“Yeah, definitely, a shout-out to all the folks in Rio Rancho,” he said. “… We’ll share some breakfast burritos and stuff.”