Imagine being named after perhaps the greatest wrestler of all time, making your rapport in the same sport as him, and then ironically, losing like him too. With his latest defeat, that’s the story of the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ Gable Steveson who was named after Dan Gable. 

Back in the 1970’s NCAA Championship wrestling Finals, Iowa State’s senior Dan faced Washington’s sophomore Larry Owings. Before entering his last college game, the Hall of Famer had a flawless 117-0 winning record. And then came the loss that would hang in his neck for ages. In what is known as the biggest upsets in college wrestling history, Dan fell to Owings 13-11. And as if it was fate, 55 years later, history repeated for Steveson, almost emulating the same story. Of course, the upset was, well, upsetting. And an eye opener for UFC’s Bo Nickal.

After taking his time to process yet another huge upset in NCAA wrestling history, Nickal finally spoke about Gable Steveson’s shocking defeat. The three-time NCAA champion knows what it takes to dominate the mat. Hence, he figured the match would be a straightforward triumph that he didn’t even care to attend the game and watched it on an iPad in the locker room. But when Wyatt Hendrickson landed a last-second takedown to win 5-4, the arena shook—and so did Nickal’s perspective. And now, he has to accept the truth.

In a recent episode of his YouTube channel Nickals and Dimes, Bo broke the confident Ronan Bell’s “Oh you were obviously close to that (game)” as he accepted, “It was kind of funny. Actually, for that match I went to the back, so I was watching it on an iPad with the rest of the Penn State guys. We were back in the locker room just kinda chat it up. I didn’t expect it to be that competitive of a match.“

However, what happened next was, of course, a huge shock to everyone. Bo recalled, “So, for me, I was like ‘Ah, whatever, I’ll just hang out with the boys.’ and he came out with a flag, and I was like, ‘Yo! That’s crazy. If you come out with a flag, you better win. That was really like a bold statement for him. ‘Cause in the moment, I was like, ‘This dude’s about to walk out with a flag and then get smashed, that’s not a good look.”

But unlike what many thought– Wyatt wearing the flag across his shoulder was him mocking the Olympian opponent– but it was him reflecting that he was coming in with the pride and mentality of a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. But with even Gable thinking the same, since the right was reserved for Olympic champions like him, this came out as a statement. Which, of course, turned out to be correct.

“And as the match went on, I was like, in the first period, ‘Yo! If this dude like keeps it close, he’s got a chance.’ Like you never know what can happen at the end. If he stays within one take down and Gable kind of took him down and I was like here we go, he’s gonna start putting him on and when the second period ended, there was still a take down and I was like, ‘Dude, he’s in there. He could do it for real.’

“And I didn’t think there was any chance of him actually taking Gable down. I was like, ‘Yo, he’s got to snap him down, run around, or Gable’s gotta take a shot and he can run around his shot. I just didn’t really believe that he had the offense to be able to get it done. But, when he shot in, like, with whatever it was—you know, 25-30 seconds left, it was like life or death. Like it was all or nothing right there. And he made it happen. So, props to him.”

It is worth noting that for years, Steveson had remained untouchable. A 73-match winning streak—an unbeaten season. Wins to define his career. He was the No. 1 seed at 285 pounds, having defeated Hendrickson 18-2 in their previous clashes. Nobody counted him out all season—until that point.

Top Comment by Quinn125

30 yrs later?…. do we know math?

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Debate

Steveson now has his own terrible chapter, which will be remembered for years. But while Gable Steveson now has his nightmare story, Reinier de Ridder is ready to gift Bo Nickal his very own scary tale.

Reinier de Ridder makes a promise to Bo Nickal ahead of UFC Fight Night

Bo Nickal has always been the guy that no one wants to wrestle. However, in MMA, things aren’t so straightforward. His last fight with Paul Craig? It made others wonder if he was truly built for the top. Sure, the win was there, but what about the hesitation? What about the lack of that lethal edge? That’s what stayed with fans. Now, with UFC Des Moines just weeks away, he has the opportunity to rewrite the narrative. However, there is one major problem– Reinier de Ridder is not going to let that happen.

Seasoned BJJ specialist, de Ridder doesn’t see Nickal as an invincible force. In fact, he believes that with the appropriate circumstances, the wrestling phenom will fold. “I don’t think so,” he replied when asked if Nickal would try to take him down. He cited the Paul Craig fight as proof. “He’s pretty scared of jiu-jitsu on the floor… I think I need to make him wrestle. I need to get close, apply pressure, hit him a few times, and he’ll definitely start shooting.” That’s the game plan, and de Ridder isn’t doubting it at all.

After all, at 34, de Ridder has spent years pitting himself against the greatest fighters in the world. In ONE Championship, he held belts in two weight divisions and annihilated everyone who attempted to out-grapple him. Now, in the UFC, he’s out to do the same. What about Bo Nickal? To de Ridder, he’s simply another wrestler who believes his experience will get him through. But MMA isn’t the NCAA, and wrestling alone won’t make you unbeatable.

If ‘The Dutch Knight’ has his way, May 3rd will not be about Nickal proving his critics wrong. It will be the night when he discovers they were correct all along. What do you think? Will Bo Nickal be able to go toe-to-toe against Reinier de Ridder? Let us know in the comments.