Bo Nickal could be set for a long layoff.

The exciting middleweight prospect is coming off arguably his most impressive win yet following a first-round knockout victory over short-notice opponent Val Woodburn at UFC 290 this past weekend.

It was also another quick finish for Nickal who is now impressively 5-0 just 13 months into his professional MMA career with two wins in the UFC already.

While he revealed post-fight that his wife was pregnant and that he plans to go hunting in September, theoretically, the American could compete once or twice more in 2023, especially if he keeps fighting unranked opponents and finishes them with ease.

That said, Nickal revealed there's a chance he doesn't fight again in 2023 period.

“There’s a chance [I don’t fight again this year],” Nickal said on The MMA Hour. “I could easily fight two more times. I could fight next week if I wanted, but for me, everything that I’m training for and preparing for is my 10th title defense down the road.

“I’m not preparing for my next fight. That’s my mindset always, so I’m going to do what prepares me best for 10 title defenses.”

Given that Nickal is one of the most promising prospects in the UFC, it would make sense for him to continue fighting regularly to build up his name and hype.

However, the 27-year-old isn't worried about his hype being affected or dying down with a prolonged absence.

“Of course, the more I fight with less time in between fights, the bigger the hype grows and stuff,” he explained. “But that’s honestly to me pretty irrelevant. I don’t care about hype, or how much people are talking about me. I’m just here to fight.”

In the end, Nickal is biding his time and is in no rush to fight a top-15 opponent anytime soon as he hones his craft. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a long-term goal, though.

When his career is all said and done, he wants to go down as one of the greatest of all time as well as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.

“I’m here to go down as one of the greatest of all time and end my career as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” he added. “Everything else, in regards to social media hype, really means nothing to me.”