This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Paddy Pimblett, Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, Tito Ortiz

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, 23

JAN. 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, 25

JAN. 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, 26

JAN. 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, 23

JAN. 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, 26

JAN. 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, 24

JAN. 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, 24

JAN. 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, 29

JAN. 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, 20

JAN. 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, 30

JAN. 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, 25

JAN. 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, 28

JAN. 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, 30

JAN. 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, 27

JAN. 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, 30

JAN. 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, 27

JAN. 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, 25

JAN. 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, 25

JAN. 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, 23

JAN. 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, 23

JAN. 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, 25

JAN. 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, 27

JAN. 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, 24

JAN. 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, 23

JAN. 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, 23

JAN. 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, 24

JAN. 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, 26

JAN. 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