UFC fighter Bo Narval returns to MSG but is no longer unbeaten

One year ago, Bo Nickal left Madison Square Garden an unbeaten prospect fresh off his seventh victory as a professional fighter.The former amateur wrestling stud is back in New York for UFC 322 on Saturday and a bout against legendary world champion jiu-jitsu practitioner Rodolfo Vieira, this time absent the sheen that comes with a perfect MMA record.If it still smarts that his zero had to go — with Nickal (7-1, six finishes) falling via TKO to Reinier de Ridder in May — he’s doing a good job of masking it.“For me, setbacks are a part of life, and I think for anybody.It’s nothing new to me,” Nickal, who in 2016 suffered the only NCAA wrestling tournament loss of his career at the Garden, told The Post on Wednesday at media day in midtown Manhattan.

“I’ve lost in the national finals, lost in the Olympic trials finals.There are experiences that I’ve had that I can look back on with gratitude.”The loss to the veteran de Ridder, who went on to join the short list of potential title contenders at middleweight before an October loss, hasn’t shaken Nickal’s trademark calm confidence.

Part of that is the way he deals with the so-called stages of grief differently now as a near-30-year-old husband and father compared to when he was a 20-year-old Penn State star.“It’s definitely different.You, of course, go through frustration and a little bit of embarrassment.

I think when I was younger and I’d lose, I’d get very depressed and feel like my life was over and everything was riding on this one moment,” Nickal said.“But as you get older, you learn that it’s really not the way things work, so I feel I was able to refocus quickly and really just use that as motivation.”Despite the loss, Nickal continues to feel the love of the wrestling community as one of the most accomplished NCAA grapplers to try his hand at fighting.

That’s not necessarily been his experience with the greater MMA fandom, both before and since the de Ridder fight.�...