Bo Nickal finishes Kyle Daukaus with knockout at UFC White House

Bo Nickal knocked out Kyle Daukaus in the first round at UFC White House on Sunday, putting away the veteran middleweight with a combination on the feet before finishing with elbows on the ground.

After taking Daukaus down early and opening a cut with short elbows from top position, Nickal got stood up by referee Jason Herzog with about a minute left in the round. Back on the feet, Nickal missed a front kick, then landed a straight left followed by a right hook that dropped Daukaus to the canvas. Nickal swarmed with more elbows as Daukaus covered up, forcing Herzog to wave off the fight at 4:34 of the opening frame, per MMA Fighting and MMA Mania.

Nickal's knockout extends win streak after upset loss

The finish capped a dominant performance for Nickal, who had lobbied hard to get on the card at the White House in Washington, D.C. "I visualized about 100 different ways to finish that guy and that was one of them," Nickal told Joe Rogan afterward, according to MMA Fighting. "Hard work pays off. I'm a wrestler, I've learned how to do a couple more things."

Nickal opened the fight by ducking a punch and scoring an early takedown, working short punches and elbows from inside Daukaus' guard until the standup. The 30-year-old former three-time NCAA wrestling champion is now 9-1 overall and has won back-to-back fights by knockout after suffering his first professional loss to Reinier de Ridder last year. He knocked out Rodolfo Vieira with a head kick at UFC 322 in his previous outing.

Daukaus falls to 17-5 after being stopped for the first time since his return to the UFC. The Philadelphia native had won his last two fights by knockout and submission in under a minute each, including a 43-second knockout of Michel Pereira in August. Nickal appears positioned for ranked competition next after dispatching the experienced grappler in such decisive fashion.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — UFC White House video: Bo Nickal drops Kyle Daukaus, finishes with vicious elbows on the ground
• MMA Fighting — UFC White House live blog: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
• MMA Mania — UFC White House results: Bo Nickal stuns Kyle Daukaus with shocking first-round knockout