At UFC Des Moines, elite pedigrees collided as undefeated three-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal met former two-division ONE Championship king Reinier de Ridder. What followed was nothing short of savage. The Penn State Alum’s perfect record was shattered when the Dutch maestro ended the bout in Round 2—just 1 minute and 53 seconds in—with a thunderous knockout. Weeks later, the MMA world still can’t stop talking about Nickal’s brutal fall.
Riding a dominant seven-fight streak—six by submission—Nickal entered as the favorite. But reality hit like a maglev train as de Ridder’s pressure decimated him. Despite the brutal setback, the American showed grace in defeat. He praised De Ridder’s skills and, in a recent episode of his ‘Nickal and Dime’ podcast, emphasized that his goal was never ‘perfection’, but the belt.
“I never wanted to be an undefeated UFC champion. I never said that. I’ve probably challenged myself more than I should. There is an easier way to go about this than what I’m doing, but I don’t feel like that’s the way God is leading me, so I’m just leaning into that. The goal isn’t any different. I just want to continue to get better and improve, and I want to find out how good I can be,” said Nickal as he expressed his positivity amidst the defeat.
In the weeks following the loss, the surging 185fer took to Instagram with a reminder that progress, whether in fighting or fandom, is a step-by-step journey. Sharing a video of UFC collectibles, he captioned: “Without training, you don’t become an amazing fighter all at once. You build yourself up one day at a time, one round at a time, one punch at a time. And just like your journey in the cage, collectibles aren’t earned all at once. Find them now at Walmart stores nationwide.”
Nickal might have thought that the fans had forgotten about his brutal loss. However, the exact opposite happened with him. The middleweight contender was not only called out by fans for being overconfident, but they also expressed that Khamzat Chimaev, whom Nickal was thinking of defeating, would have easily dominated him. Let’s see what else the fandom had to say!
“Only chance is welterweight,” say fans as Bo Nickal fails to leave a mark in the middleweight division
Starting off, a sarcastic fan took the lead as he mockingly criticized Bo Nickal’s speech, “Is the amazing fighter in the room w us?” Moreover, a social media user advised Nickal to fight at the welterweight division, “You need to move down to 170 and go to Thailand for like 3 years, bro.” To give you a successful example, Joaquin Buckley began his career in the middleweight division. However, it wasn’t particularly successful.
After suffering back-to-back defeats at 185lbs, ‘New Mansa’ dropped down to the welterweight division, where he has yet to taste defeat. His record currently stands at 6-0 in the welterweight division. Moreover, the thrashing just doesn’t stop as a fan added, “You should be working at Walmart.”
Furthermore, another fan highlighted the need for Nickal to drop down to the welterweight division,“You’re way too small for 185. Khamzat wouldve put you in a body bag.” Interestingly, even former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling suggested that Nickal should move to the welterweight division. However, when Helwani asked Nickal about dropping down to 170 lbs, he flatly denied it, “I can’t make 170,” Nickal said defiantly, “I’ll be at 185.”
Furthermore, another fan reminded Nickal about his words on Chimaev, “Remember when Bo said he could beat khamzat.” What did Nickal say about Chimaev, you ask? Well, the former NCAA champ asserted that ‘Borz’ doesn’t have what it takes to defeat him, “I think I can win [in] a lot of ways. He’s [Khamzat Chimaev] at 170. Like, yeah, he’s a ’70 [pounder] that can’t make weight. What’s he gonna do to me? Is he gonna take me down? No. Is he gonna submit me? No. Does he have a chance to knock me out? I mean, I guess, yeah.”
Last but not least, a fan gave a reality check to Bo Nickal, “Bo can only win a title in the PFL like Phil Davis. Bo’s coaches can’t teach clinch fighting and boxing. Bo’s loyalty to his coaches will be his UFC demise. Bo’s only chance is welterweight, but he can’t cut. Bo is like Gastelum. Bo can’t hang with the huge men in middleweight, but can’t make welterweight where he can win a UFC title. Therefore, expect no UFC title for Bo but a better chance in PFL.”
With uncertainty looming over his career, what do you think about Bo Nickal’s future? Does he have what it takes to become the middleweight champion? Share your thoughts in the comments below
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