Bo Nickal can’t stop talking about Khamzat Chimaev.
But if the unranked middleweight wrestler is hoping to score a future super fight against the No. 3-ranked title contender, he may want to do a better job of selling the showdown. Right now, it sounds like Nickal is content to lay-and-pray his way to victory.
Not a great way to rebound from this criticism.
”I don’t think there’s really a guy in the world at 86 kilos that can beat me in wrestling,” Nickal said on YouTube (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I think that he’s good, he’s got skills, but his biggest thing that’s going to crush him, especially in a fight against me is, dude, you’re going to get tired. You’re going to go (down), and I’m going to go (up) as the fight goes on.”
Blame those damn high school kids.
“And you’re not going to take me down, which is your best attribute,” Nickal continued. “So you’re going to have to strike with me. I’m probably going to be able to take you down. Maybe I don’t hold you down on the ground forever, but I can hold you down there for a little bit, and the longer the fight goes, the worse it’s going to get.”
Probably not how UFC wants to book a fighter with six post-fight performance bonuses.
Nickal (7-0), a former NCAA Division-1 National Champion out of Penn State, made his UFC debut in March 2023 following a pair of wins on Dana White’s “Contender Series” proving ground. As for Chimaev (14-0), he’s probably one victory away from a middleweight title shot, assuming the promotion doesn’t keep him on ice for the winner of this fight.
We’ll find out in just a few weeks.
