Middleweight fighters were in the spotlight during the UFC 322 preliminary card on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, and it was capped off by a highlight-reel knockout from one of the most promising athletes in the division.

Bo Nickal bounced back from his first loss in mixed martial arts in a major way, setting a new personal best for significant strikes landed in a fight and adding an exclamation mark in the form of a third-round head kick knockout of Rodolfo Vieira.

Nickal, 29, is a touted former collegiate wrestling star who was finished by Reinier de Ridder in May. Prior to that, Nickal had won seven consecutive bouts to begin his MMA career. His improvements were on display as he put on a striking clinic against Vieira, a 36-year-old multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world c

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