Here is everything you should know about Maddie Holmberg, the wife of up-and-coming UFC star Bo Nickal.
On week three of the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series, Bo Nickal faced Zachary Borrego in his second professional mixed martial arts match. Nickal got the battle to the ground almost quickly and applied a rear naked choke to Borrego, putting an end to the contest in under a minute.
Due to Nickal’s lack of competitive experience, UFC president Dana White was hesitant to offer him a contract immediately, despite being impressed. Nickal was instead granted the main event spot on week 10’s card against Donovan Beard, ostensibly for a UFC contract.
Nickal secured an early takedown and submitted Beard with a triangle choke in just 52 seconds, indicating that he is indeed as skilled as he claims to be. This performance won Nickal a UFC contract, and he will now make his promotional debut as the main card opener at UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane.
On fight night, his opponent is Jamie Pickett, a former Contender Series graduate who has earned two victories throughout his three-year UFC tenure. This is a classic striker-against-wrestler fight to launch Nickal’s UFC career, as eight of Pickett’s 13 victories came by knockout.
Bo Nickal’s wife Maddie Holmberg
Bo Dean Nickel is married to his long-term partner, Maddie Holmberg. Two years have passed since the couple’s wedding. His wife is American, just like Nickal. On December 12, 2020, they exchanged vows. Rob and Deirdre Holmberg are her parents. Rob played football at Penn State and the NFL.
Robert Anthony Holmberg is a former linebacker for the National Football League who played for eight seasons. Rob played high school football at Mt. Pleasant Area School in Pennsylvania’s Mt. Pleasant. He played collegiate football at the United States Naval Academy and Penn State University before being drafted in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. Currently, he owns a number of Denny’s locations in and around Pittsburgh.
CAREER: Three-time first team All-American…Big Ten Champion in the pentathlon and heptathlon…Named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
RECORDS: Holds Penn State heptathlon school record (5,976 points)…Ranks second all-time in the pentathlon (4,274 points).
On National level
NCAA Outdoor Championships (6/9-12/21): Placed sixth in the heptathlon with a score of 5864. Earned First Tea All-America honors.
NCAA East Prelims (5/26-29/21): Competed in the long jump event.
NCAA Indoor Championships (3/13/20): Qualified for NCAA Indoor Championships in pentathlon…Was unable to compete cancellation due to COVID-19 pandemic.
NCAA Indoor Championships (3/8-9/19): Finished ninth at the NCAA Finals…Earned second-team All-America honors…Set then-personal best in pentathlon (4,227 points)…Second on Penn State chart in that event.
NCAA Outdoor Championships (6/6-9/18): Finished third in heptathlon (5,833 points)…Had second-best mark in shot put (44-10.75, 13.68m)…Recorded a personal-best time of 2:19.16 in the 800-meter run.
NCAA Indoor Championships (3/9-10/18): Finished seventh in pentathlon with personal-best score for No. 2 score in school history (4,216 points)…Had top mark in shot put with her distance of 45-0.5 (13.73m) in pentathlon.
Maddie Holmberg’s husband Bo Nickal
Born on January 14, 1996, Bo Dean Nickal is a professional American mixed martial artist, a former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who is now competing in the UFC middleweight division. In freestyle wrestling, he won the 2019 U23 World Championship and the 2019 US Open National Championship, and was a finalist in the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials and a 2019 Final X competitor. Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion (finalist in 2016) and a three-time Big Ten Conference Champion during his collegiate wrestling career at Penn State University.
Nickal, regarded as one of the most accomplished Nittany Lions of all time, won the 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding collegiate wrestler, was a two-time Schalles Award winner as the nation’s greatest pinner, and was awarded the 2019 Big Ten Athlete of the Year.
Bo Nickal background and childhood
Nickal was born in Rifle, Colorado, but relocated to Wyoming as a child, where he began wrestling between the ages of five and six. He moved to Rio Rancho, New Mexico in fifth grade. In his eighth grade year, Nickal made the varsity squad at his high school and placed second in the state competition in New Mexico.
As a student, he moved once more, this time to Allen High School in Allen, Texas. As a freshman, he placed second at the Texas state competition. Since his sophomore year, he has won every state event he has entered, becoming a three-time UIL state champion. He placed fifth at the 2013 Cadet World Championships in freestyle as a junior.
Nickal pledged to wrestle for the Nittany Lions at the Pennsylvania State University after completing his junior year. He finished high school with an 183–7 record, including 131 pins, and was the ninth-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in the nation. In his first year of college, Nickal elected to take a redshirt after posting a 15–2 record in open events while wrestling unattached at 174 pounds.
Bo Nickal kids
Bo Nickal and Maddie Holmberg have no kids.
Bo Nickal religious belief
Bo Nickal adheres to the Christian faith. He remarked that his faith in God helps relieve some of the strain that he experiences while competing:
“Win or lose, I’m still the same person and my family loves me and I still serve a great God, and, you know, that’s just part of his plan for my life is to wrestle. So I do feel like it’s important, but at the end of the day that’s not what defines me. I just have placed my identity in Jesus Christ and I go out there and compete freely and the best I can every match.”
FAQs about Bo Nickal’s wife Maddie Holmberg
When was Maddie Holmberg born?
Maddie Holmberg was born on October 26, 1996, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Who are Maddie Holmberg’s parents?
Rob and Deirdre Holmberg are her parents.
When did Maddie Holmberg marry Bo Nickal?
Maddie Holmberg and Bo Nickal got married on December 12, 2020
More UFC news
- Conor McGregor calls Khabib Nurmagomedov “homophobic” in crazy deleted rant
- Kamaru Usman open to Middleweight move after UFC 261 but on one condition
- Jiri Prochazka says Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor and others inspired him
Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates
