Bo Nickal and the Hottest Prospects in the UFC Right Now

The redheaded lads are having a moment.

Prince Harry. Ed Sheeran. Sean McVay. Justin Turner. Chucky. And now you can add Bo Nickal to the list.

He's not a household name just yet. In MMA land, though, he's the hottest redhead around. (Except for yours truly, of course.)

If you're not familiar, Nickal won three national titles as a wrestler at Penn State, receiving the Dan Hodge award in 2019 as the nation's best college wrestler. He switched to MMA and just finished bulldozing his way through Dana White’s Contender Series, a de facto feeder league for the big show. In the process, he became probably the biggest breakout star in show history.

That got us to thinking. Where does Nickal rank among the UFC's top prospects? Let's take a look at the top five, shall we?

First, a few ground rules. Defining a "prospect" in MMA is a little less cut and dried than it is in, say, football or basketball, where there's a clear continuum and dividing lines between the tiers of competition. Fighters also routinely cross over to MMA after making their bones in another sport, as Nickal did with wrestling. So while Nickal might seem to be too old to be a prospect—he's three months shy of being 27—his newness to the sport qualifies him in this space.

For comparison's sake, we'll draw the line for prospects at 27 years old and/or three or fewer fights in the UFC.

Paddy Pimblett (top) punches Jordan Leavitt (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

5. Paddy Pimblett

Age: 27

Division: Lightweight

Record: 19-3 (3-0 UFC)

Paddy the Baddy can be a little over the top sometimes, but his energy is infectious and he's proven himself equal to the hype.

The native Liverpudlian has stoppages in all three of his UFC wins, including that wild knockout of Luigi Vendramini in his debut. Each bout netted him a post-fight performance bonus.

He's mainly a grappler, but he likes to exchange on the feet, where his chin tends to bail him out of bad spots—so far, anyway. He also tends to rely more on aggression and hustle than perfect technique, but his ability to initiate and win scrambles makes him dangerous on the ground.

There's no next opponent yet for Pimblett, but he'll be a mainstay on cards—particularly across the pond—for years to come.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

4. Erin Blanchfield

Age: 23

Division: Women’s flyweight

Record: 9-1 (3-0 UFC)

Earlier this year, with Blanchfield's star beginning to rise, JJ Aldrich called her out.

The UFC made the fight for June, and Blanchfield marked the occasion by notching her first submission win in the Octagon.

"I love being called out," she told MMA Junkie. "It kind of keeps your name out there. … I think it's funny because they think they're going to beat me. It never really works out for them."

You have to love the confidence. The top prospect on the women's side of the ledger, Blanchfield is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie. She's not what you’d call a high-octane finisher, but her control grappling is downright dominant. Per official UFC stats, Blanchfield racked up a remarkable 12 minutes of control time against Miranda Maverick, meaning she literally controlled 80 percent of the match.

Blanchfield gets a step up in competition in November when she faces Molly McCann at UFC 281.

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

3. Ilia Topuria

Age: 25

Division: Lightweight

Record: 12-0 (4-0 UFC)

Four UFC wins, three knockouts for Topuria. In his lightweight debut in March, Jai Herbert flattened Topuria and put him on the defensive early. But Topuria weathered the storm and blasted Herbert with a picture-perfect right hand to gain a walk-off knockout in the second round.

So much for concerns about whether his power and athleticism would carry over to a higher weight class. He can sleep you on the feet or on the ground. Topuria appears poised to climb the ladder at 155 pounds. His next bout was supposed to be Edson Barboza later this month, but Barboza pulled out with a knee injury, so for now, Topuria's return to action is up in the air.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

2. Shavkat Rakhmonov

Age: 27

Division: Welterweight

Record: 16-0 (4-0 UFC)

The native Uzbek has finished all four of his UFC contests inside the distance, with this last two netting him post-fight performance bonuses. A spectacular spin-kick knockout of Carlston Harris was the top highlight, but his chokeout of perennial tough-out Neil Magny in June was his signature win.

Rakhmonov is huge for a welterweight and skilled in multiple phases. He can snipe you down from range or get inside and get a takedown. When he connects it does real damage, and when there's an opening on the ground, he takes advantage.

Rakhmonov will face another big name in January when he squares off with the streaking Geoff Neal.

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

1. Bo Nickal

Age: 26

Division: Middleweight

Record: 3-0 (2-0 UFC)

After back-to-back submission wins on the Contender Series, the UFC inked Nickal to make his UFC debut proper this December against Jamie Pickett at UFC 282. It could be the most closely watched UFC debut in recent memory.

Nickal's calling card is obviously his wrestling. He's well-versed in freestyle wrestling and submission grappling as well as the collegiate folkstyle wrestling. But he can strike as well, and he is deadly strong. His approach is to simply overwhelm his opponents, and only one of his three contests lasted beyond the first minute.

It doesn't hurt that he's an engaging and eminently quotable personality. He appears to have the mental makeup needed for marketability, which is always a huge piece of the puzzle whether anyone likes it or not.

He still has to prove it against top competition—and it's uncertain, charitably speaking, whether Pickett fits that bill—but he's riding a world of talent and a mountain of hype into December.