Recently, the whole world of MMA was set ablaze when the most hyped American prospect in MMA, Bo Nickal, lost his first fight inside the Octagon after staying undefeated for the first seven fights of his career. What followed was nothing but criticism and trolling for the three-time NCAA Division I national champion, whereas the veterans want the American wrestler to keep it together.
Speaking in the same tone, Olympic gold medalist and NCAA wrestling champion Gable Steveson recently shared his thoughts on fellow wrestling standout Bo Nickal’s transition to MMA and his loss to Reinier De Ridder in Des Moines, Iowa. He highlighted the difference between his style and Nickal’s and offered the 2019 U23 World Wrestling Champion advice on handling his loss and future well.
Gable Stevenson, a huge prospect himself, is also about to transition to MMA soon, and as he sat down with host and former UFC fighter Mike Perry on the OverDogs podcast, he told Bo Nickal, ” In all honesty, um, what separates me from Bo man, Bo is Bo. I mean, when he goes out there, that’s what you’re going to get. And like we just talked about, I like spectacles. I like being a person that when you walk into that building, people are going to turn their heads and look at you and be like “Wow. Like I get to see him in person.”
Stevenson further added: “And I would love for Bo to grab a hold of that. And I really like Bo. I’m trying to just be the best I can for him right now. And um, but I’m a fan of his. I think he can do really well, and I think he’s going to keep doing really well. Um, I would like to see him keep putting it together and, keep handling all the situations that he can, in the best way possible.” With concern and well-wishes for Nickal, Stevenson just expects the fighter to keep hold of himself in this vulnerable moment and he will inevitably rise and find his way to the top.
January 17, 2025, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States: University of Minnesota wrestler GABLE STEVENSON prepares for his match. The University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan faced off at Maturi Pavillion in Minneapolis Minnesota on January 19th 2025. The University of Minnesota was victorious, winning by a score of 25-10. Minneapolis United States – ZUMAt166 20250117_zsp_t166_039 Copyright: xMichaelxTurnerx
What Stevenson means is that the main difference between Bo and him is that Gable is an individual who likes to go in the room and capture all of its attention. He thrives on being a large spectacle not just for the audience but for himself as well. While on the other hand, Bo Nickal presents himself as a professional who lives and breathes around the fight game. Yet he also showed support for the American wrestling prospect.
But Stevenson isn’t the only one who came out to show support for Nickal, many veterans and fighters alike joined hands to make sure the support for him is heard louder than his criticism as it is just one setback in the already illustrious career of the 29 year old, Bo Nickal. Lets read furter to find out.
Bo Nickal faces excessive criticism after loss to De Ridder. Veterans show up to the rescue
The whole world combat sports was shocked by the upset when Nickal was beaten by Reinier De Ridder. In the fight, we saw Nickal get absolutely dominated and bodied by the former two-division champion at the organization ONE. The Dutch fighter relentlessly attacked Nickal’s body and outclassed him with his Jiu Jitsu leading to a second round finish for De Ridder. Following which the criticism did not take long to reach Bo’s doorstep.
However, many veterans of the sport felt like this was just a minor setback for the fighter and his best years are yet to come. Former two-division champion and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said: “I thought he did really good… I believe he’s going to be fine. I don’t have a problem with the performance. I thought he fought really well, but there’s room for improvement. Let’s just take our time. There’s no need to rush him.”
UFC Hall of Famer and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping, even compared the American wrestler to the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov. He said, “Bo Nickal has the potential to go down as one of the greatest champions that we’ve ever seen – an American version of a Khamzat Chimaev or an Islam Makhachev or a Khabib Nurmagomedov.” Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz also stood by Nickal’s side as he said: “Everyone is criticizing Bo Nickal, guys everyone needs to chill this guy is 6-0. People are haters; they want other people to do bad in life.”
This all goes to show that even if Bo Nickal has lost the zero from his record forever, he still has the backing and support of many of those who have gone and conquered the sport. They strongly feel that Bo Nickal has the ability to surpass them. So the question is, will he? Will he able to make his own legacy in MMA? Will we see him with a UFC belt around his waist? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
The post Gable Steveson Points Out What Separates Him From UFC’s Bo Nickal Amid MMA Debut Plot appeared first on EssentiallySports.
