Bo
Nickal reclaimed some of his buzz with one mighty swing of his
left leg. The four-time NCAA All-American and burgeoning
American Top Team star turns 30 on Jan. 14.

Prior to his transition to mixed martial arts, Nickal excelled as
an amateur wrestler at Penn State University. There, he captured
three NCAA championships for the Nittany Lions and finished with a
remarkable .976 winning percentage (120-3). Nickal was awarded the
Dan Hodge Trophy—collegiate wrestling’s equivalent to the
Heisman—in 2019. After a failed attempt to qualify for the
Olympics, the Rifle, Colorado, native set his sights on MMA. Nickal
won his first three bouts, two of them on
Dana White’s Contender Series, in a little more than two
minutes combined, nailed down an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract and made his
long-awaited Octagon debut with a first-round arm-triangle choke
submission of Jamie
Pickett at UFC 285. A meteoric rise ensued. Nickal, however,
suffered his first professional setback on May 3, when a knee to
the body from former two-division ONE
Championship titleholder Reinier
de Ridder at UFC on ESPN 67 knocked him from the ranks of the
unbeaten. He returned to the cage six months later and proceeded to
flip off his critics, literally and figuratively, when he buried
Rodolfo
Vieira with a head kick in the third round of their featured
UFC 322 prelim at Madison Square Garden in New York. The victory
improved Nickal to 8-1 and brought with it a $50,000 “Performance
of the Night” bonus.

Some of the others in MMA celebrating birthdays during the month of
January:

JAN. 1
Jason
Godsey, 62
Guy
Mezger, 58
Eiji
Mitsuoka, 50
Charles
Diaz, 49
Joe
Vedepo, 44
Robbie
Peralta, 40
Gadzhimurad
Antigulov, 39
John
Lineker, 36
Stephen
Loman, 34
Emily
Ducote, 33
Herica
Tiburcio, 33
Rasul
Magomedov, 31
Zafar
Mohsen, 31
Jeka
Saragih, 31
Bella
Mir, 23JAN. 2
Igor
Pokrajac, 47
Mac
Danzig, 46
Luis
Santos, 46
Oli
Thompson, 46
Mahmoud
Hassan, 45
Valentino
Petrescu, 45
Konstantin
Erokhin, 44
Tom Santos,
41
Julian
Shore, 37
Brittany
Camozzi, 34
Samuel
Silva, 30
Amanda
Leve, 29
Dong
Hun Choi, 27
Matheus
Camilo, 25
Janderson
Barreto, 24

JAN. 3
Rodney
Glunder, 51
Owen
Carr, 39
Josh
Martin, 39
Harry
Hunsucker, 37
Aleksandar
Ilic, 37
Tanner
Saraceno, 35
Kendly St.
Louis, 35
Vlad
Popovskiy, 34
Marif
Piraev, 33
Paddy
Pimblett, 31
Umar
Nurmagomedov, 30
Magomed
Saipulaev, 30
Young Jae
Song, 30
Nathan
Fletcher, 28
Abdul-Rakhman
Yakhyaev, 25JAN. 4
Kimo
Leopoldo, 58
Vladimir
Matyushenko, 55
Shane
Carwin, 51
Justin
McElfresh, 46
Donny
Walker, 46
Jose
Maria Tome, 44
Derek
Brunson, 42
Raphael
Butler, 42
Jin Suk
Jung, 42
Jung
Min Kang, 40
Warlley
Alves, 35
Damion
Hill, 34
Hanna
Palmqvist, 32
Tigran
Simonyan, 26
Anderson
Xavier, 26JAN. 5
Ruben
Villareal, 56
Mike
Bronzoulis, 47
John
Gunderson, 47
Kaline
Medeiros, 47
Trevor
Smith, 45
Michelle
Nicolini, 44
Takahiro
Suzuki, 39
Douglas
Lima, 38
Albert
Duraev, 37
David
Rickels, 37
Domingo
Pilarte, 36
Goiti
Yamauchi, 33
Kai
Kamaka III, 31
Nachyn
Sat, 28
Helisson
Cardoso, 23JAN. 6
Kevin
Rosier, 1962-2015
Kenny
Garner, 51
Kalib
Starnes, 51
Riki
Fukuda, 45
Josh
Rafferty, 45
Johnny
Bedford, 43
Wilson
Reis, 41
Michelle
Waterson-Gomez, 40
Karl
Williams, 36
Matheus
Nicolau, 33
Cortavious
Romious, 32
Ben
Royle, 31
Desmond
Torres, 29
Tony
Laramie, 27
Cezary
Oleksiejczuk, 26JAN. 7
Ramazan
Ramazanov, 59
Donald
Brashear, 54
Christian
Colombo, 46
Maurice
Jackson, 45
Caros
Fodor, 42
Thiago
Santos, 42
Jianping
Yang, 40
Matt
Hobar, 39
Katsushi
Kojima, 37
Levan
Makashvili, 37
Jeff
Peterson, 36
Kaytlin
Neil, 34
Luan
Lacerda, 33
Rayla
Nascimento, 30
Khusan
Urakov, 24JAN. 8
Tara
LaRosa, 48
Andre
Santos, 45
Ertan
Balaban, 43
Colin
Fletcher, 43
Lee
Chadwick, 41
Phil
Hawes, 37
Marcus
Almeida, 36
Michael
Graves, 35
Viacheslav
Borshchev, 34
Guram
Kutateladze, 34
Shamil
Musaev, 32
Joao
Elias, 31
Isfak
Seyid, 29
Baisangur
Susurkaev, 25
Iasmin
Lucindo, 24JAN. 9
Pete
Spratt, 55
David
Terrell, 48
Adson
Lira Nascimento, 47
Jake
Shields, 47
Garreth
McLellan, 44
Danielle
Hindley, 42
Yoislandy
Izquierdo, 42
Rich
Lictawa, 38
Ode
Osbourne, 34
Thomas
Gantt, 33
Michael
Dufort, 32
Ramon
Taveras, 32
Chandler
Cole, 31
Trevor
Peek, 31
Aslan
Utegaliev, 29JAN. 10
Yumiko
Hotta, 59
Mickey
Hughes, 47
Matt
Brown, 45
Vernon
Lewis, 42
Simon
Marini, 40
Ben
Neumann, 40
Magomed
Magomedkerimov, 36
Merab
Dvalishvili, 35
Charles
Johnson, 35
Serena
DeJesus, 34
Joshua
Pacio, 30
Kai
Tang, 30
Lucas
Fernando, 29
Abdoul
Razac Sankara, 25
Jean
Sevalho, 20JAN. 11
Ivan
Salaverry, 55
Rebecca
Ruth, 47
Rafael
Cavalcante, 45
Muhammed
Lawal, 45
Eddie
Alvarez, 42
Terry
Etim, 40
Peter
Sobotta, 39
Kurt
Kinser, 38
Anatoly
Malykhin, 38
Azamat
Pshukov, 35
Artem
Reznikov, 34
Maxim
Pugachev, 33
Mahamed
Aly, 32
Alex
Potts, 32
Bobby
Lee, 30JAN. 12
Ikuhisa
Minowa, 50
Frank
Carrillo, 42
Young
Bok Kil, 41
Angela
Hill, 38
Jingnan
Xiong, 38
Adam
Fugitt, 37
Piotr
Niedzielski, 35
Nate
Jennerman, 33
Brena
Cardozo, 32
Carlos
Felipe, 31
Isis
Verbeek, 31
Arthur
Lima, 30
Mateusz
Makarowski, 29
Ernie
Juarez, 28
Nueraji
Taiyilake, 25JAN. 13
George
Allen, 59
Leigh
Remedios, 50
Nick
Agallar, 47
Justin
Hawes, 47
Dennis
Siver, 47
Thomas
Schulte, 45
Joe
Schilling, 42
Derrick
Krantz, 38
Lucas
Almeida, 35
Alyse
Anderson, 31
Liam
Anderson, 31
Anshul
Jubli, 31
Monika
Chochlikova, 30
Rolando
Bedoya, 29
Ivan
Bogdanov, 28JAN. 14
Matt
Uhde, 52
Akbarh
Arreola, 43
Daniel
McWilliams, 43
Robert
Turnquest, 43
Matt
Riddle, 40
Arman
Ashimov, 34
Kevin
Chung, 33
Said
Sowma, 33
Dricus Du
Plessis, 32
Dylan
Potter, 31
Bo
Nickal, 30
Ji
Yong Yang, 30
Denice
Zamboanga, 29
Dylan
Budka, 26
Ibragim
Dauev, 25
JAN. 15
Alexandre
Franca Nogueira, 48
Nobuhiro
Obiya, 45
Yuki
Nishigo, 41
Andrew
Craig, 40
Efrain
Escudero, 40
Joao
Zeferino, 40
Alexander
Gustafsson, 39
Josema
Jose da Paz, 39
Eddie
Hall, 38
Vinicius
Zani, 38
Matt
Schnell, 36
Michael
McDonald, 35
Zubaira
Tukhugov, 35
Josh
Fremd, 32
Nick
Aguirre, 30JAN. 16
Paul
Buentello, 52
Hyun
Gyu Lim, 41
Sai
Wang, 40
Mikhail
Mokhnatkin, 36
Yann
Liasse, 35
Juan
Adams, 34
Don’Tale
Mayes, 34
Genaro
Valdez, 34
Chris
Avila, 33
Caio
Borralho, 33
Zebenzui
Ruiz, 32
Josefine
Lindgren Knutsson, 30
Luigi
Vendramini, 30
Asael
Adjoudj, 27
Ramiro
Jimenez, 27JAN. 17
Gary
Goodridge, 60
Tae
Hyun Lee, 51
Ryan
McGivern, 46
Cole
Province, 45
Ariel
Sexton, 44
Tyler
Stinson, 40
Dusan
Dzakic, 39
Brian
Grinnell, 38
Ryan
Pokryfky, 38
Alexander
Sarnavskiy, 37
Marthin
Hamlet, 34
Mukhamed
Berkhamov, 32
Impa
Kasanganay, 32
Luis
Felipe Dias, 30
Jacobe
Smith, 30JAN. 18
Dave
Bautista, 57
Fabio
Gurgel, 56
Neil
Grove, 55
Jeff
Monson, 55
Marlon
Sims, 52
Yoshikazu
Fujiishi, 48
Luis
Ramos, 45
Miguel
Torres, 45
Diego
Ferreira, 41
A.J.
Dobson, 34
Marcin
Held, 34
Antonio
Zovak, 31
Artem
Belakh, 30
Konklak
Suphisara, 30
Jostin
Quilca, 27JAN. 19
Aritano
Silva Barbosa, 47
Daniel
Pinheiro, 47
Justin
Guthrie, 45
Joe
Cason, 38
Leandro
Higo, 37
Dustin
Poirier, 37
Anthony
Jimenez, 36
Timur
Valiev, 36
Steven
Graham, 35
Regivaldo
Carvalho, 32
Jordan
Lucas, 32
Cameron
Rowston, 31
Marek
Mazuch, 30
Jesse
Tafoya, 30
Thaiany
Lopes, 25JAN. 20
Renato
Tavares, 58
Marcelo
Aguiar, 57
Matt
Ewin, 56
Alexandre
Ribeiro, 45
Roy
Doliguez, 44
Micah
Terrill, 42
Donavon
Frelow, 41
Juan
Puerta, 38
Liudvik
Sholinian, 36
Alberth
Dias, 34
Erick
Gonzalez, 34
Sam
Hernandez, 33
Angelo
Rivera Jr., 33
Su
Mudaerji, 30
Kenny
Mokhonoana, 29

JAN. 21
Demetrius
Richards, 51
Francisco
France, 43
Edson
Barboza, 40
Patricky
Freire, 40
Willie
Gates, 39
Tony
Kelley, 39
Matthew
Lopez, 39
Shane
Campbell, 38
Andre
Ewell, 38
Luca
Iovine, 38
Jhony
Gregory, 32
Joo
Sang Yoo, 32
Ilia
Topuria, 29
Michael
Oliveira, 28
Eli
Pokorney, 25JAN. 22
Carlton
Haselrig, 1966-2020
Min Soo
Kim, 51

Jorge Antonio Cezario de Oliveira, 46
Luigi
Fioravanti, 45
Tomasz
Drwal, 44
Ji Hoon
Kim, 44
Steve
Ramirez, 39
Daniel
Carey, 36
Mickey
Gall, 34
Hamdy
Abdelwahab, 33
Arnold
Allen, 32
Steven
Koslow, 29
Felipe
Franco, 25
Kade
Ruotolo, 23
Tye
Ruotolo, 23JAN. 23
Marco
Ruas, 65
Tito
Ortiz, 51
Cyrillo
Padilha Neto, 48
Rodolfo
Marques, 42
A.J.
Matthews, 38
Korey
Kuppe, 37
Christos
Giagos, 36
Anthony
Ivy, 36
Victor
Altamirano, 35
Themba
Gorimbo, 35
Justin
Wetzell, 34
Haobin
Ma, 32
Shamil
Akhmatkhanov, 30
Darya
Zheleznyakova, 30
Sakura
Mori, 23JAN. 24
Akira
Maeda, 67
Lukasz
Chlewicki, 47
Jamall
Johnson, 44
Matt
Mazurek, 42
Jimmy
Spicuzza, 41
Gurdarshan
Mangat, 39
Westin
Wilson, 37
Oskar
Piechota, 36
Darina
Mazdyuk, 34
Radoslaw
Paczuski, 33
Yanis
Ghemmouri, 31
Christian
Lohsen, 31
Serghei
Spivac, 31
Ty
Johnson, 29
Mauricio
Rodriguez, 25JAN. 25
Ron van
Clief, 83
Jorge
Gurgel, 49
Paulo
Thiago, 45
Heather
Hardy, 44
Tor
Troeng, 43
John
Quinn, 43
Mike
Easton, 42
Dashon
Johnson, 38
Dominique
Steele, 38
Nic
Herron-Webb, 36
Zelim
Imadaev, 31
Roberto
Soldic, 31
Alik
Lorenz, 29
Elbert
Lukas Steyn, 29
Donte
Johnson, 27JAN. 26
Dan
Bobish, 56
Flavio Luiz
Moura, 50
Jared
Rollins, 49
Carmelo
Marrero, 45
Rafaello
Oliveira, 44
Olivia
Parker, 44
Justin
Edwards, 43
Chico
Camus, 41
Viktor
Nemkov, 39
Martina
Jindrova, 35
Ariane
Lipski da Silva, 32
Michele
Baiano, 28

Bruce Soares Xavier Martins, 28
Victoria
Dudakova, 27
Christian
Turner, 24JAN. 27
Matt
Skelton, 59
Derrick
Ruffin, 55
Tony
Sylvester, 48
Klay
Konrad, 44
Anthony
Pettis, 39
Emmanuel
Walo, 39
Vinicius
de Jesus, 36
Koki
Naito, 36
Luis
Saldana, 35
Edgar
Chairez, 30
Jean-Paul
Lebosnoyani, 27
Islam
Djabrailov, 26
Ignacio
Famozo, 26
Tatsuro
Taira, 26
Idris
Abdurashidov, 23JAN. 28
Claudio
Rocha, 48
Tim
Boetsch, 45
Cortez
Coleman, 44
Ashleigh
Grimshaw, 44
Jesse
Fujarczyk, 43
Mandy
Polk, 41
Brandon
Saling, 40
Melsik
Baghdasaryan, 34
Carson
Hardman, 31
Alessandro
Costa, 30
Aleksandre
Topuria, 30
Jaylon
Bates, 29
Ky
Bennett, 28
Mekhroch
Mamadshoev, 28
Samuel
Sanches, 23JAN. 29
Stephen
Palling, 59
Valid
Abdurachmanov, 54
Kazuyuki
Miyata, 50
Annalisa
Bucci, 43
Josh
Tyler, 41
Rodolfo
Rubio, 39
Garrett
Mueller, 37
Daichi
Takenaka, 36
Nikolay
Aleksakhin, 35
Kyung
Pyo Kim, 34
Mallory
Martin, 32
Valery
Dashkevich, 30
Dakota
Hope, 29
Chermen
Gobaev, 28
Mohamed
Tarek Mohey, 24JAN. 30
Takaku
Fuke, 57
Rob
Kimmons, 45
Bruno
Carvalho, 44
Jessica
Penne, 43
Junior dos
Santos, 42
Vanessa
Guimaraes, 36
Joshua
Montoya, 36
Ali
Motamed, 35
Daniel
Swain, 35
Alex
McGowan, 34
Masuto
Kawana, 31
Magomed
Mamaev, 31
Danny
Silva, 29
Albert
Mallakurbanov, 28
Roberto
Romero, 26JAN. 31
Kristian
Rothaermel, 54
Akira
Shoji, 52
Kengo
Watanabe, 50
Maciej
Jewtuszko, 45
Shunichi
Shimizu, 41
Renan
Barao, 39
Dae
Hwan Kim, 39
Kirill
Sukhomlinov, 38
Dhiego
Lima, 37
Kyle
Stewart, 37
Cesar
Arzamendia, 35
Bassil
Hafez, 34
Ramazonbek
Temirov, 29
Dorobshokh
Nabotov, 27
Ana Clara
Santos, 22