Bo Nickal insists he will get back to his wrestling roots in 2025.
The middleweight prospect shocked everyone when he employed a striking-heavy game plan to beat BJJ specialist Paul Craig at UFC 309 earlier this month.
Bo Nickal was booed for his performance, which was not what anybody expected from the three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion, who is widely regarded as one of the best grapplers in MMA today.
The 28-year-old insists his performance against Craig was a one-off, and promised that all of his future opponents will have to fend off his elite-level wrestling takedowns.
READ MORE: UFC legend holds Bo Nickal’s corner responsible for lackluster performance at UFC 309
Bo Nickal reflects on biggest win of his career
Despite winning a unanimous decision, the hype surrounding Bo Nickal has slightly subsided after many people concluded that he’s not ready to face the upper echelon at 185lbs.
Chants of ‘overrated’ echoed around Madison Square Garden in New York, but the rising star insists that he wasn’t bothered by the negative reaction to his performance.
“It didn’t really faze me,” Nickal said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman. “When I look at my performance, there’s definitely a lot of things I could do better.
“But I’m also really happy with being able to get 15 minutes in the cage. If you look at my total Octagon time before this fight, it’s way less than that. So, I overdoubled my experience in the cage, which is something I’m really grateful for, and it’s something I think is going to pay dividends down the line.
“My goal has always been to be UFC champion, pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world. So, when I call out guys like Khamzat [Chimaev], that’s because I think that he’s really good, and I want to fight the best guys.
“I think that this last fight, you know, even though people didn’t love the performance, was a great step in the right direction. I dominated a veteran, a guy who has 26 fights, for three straight rounds just using striking. I didn’t even use my biggest asset. I think people now are saying, ‘Oh, Bo, he can’t wrestle’. Bro, trust me, I can wrestle.
“I want to keep dominating. I look at my potential for matchups in the future, and with Paul Craig, his best position’s off his back. So, I didn’t think it was the best situation to put him in his best position, but there’s really no other guys like that.
“You can guarantee that every single guy I’m going to be taking them down. There’s a very low chance. I’m not going to say zero because crazy things happen. I could slip on a banana peel or something. Very low chance that they’re taking me down, and if they do, I’m getting up guaranteed.”
What’s next for Bo Nickal?
Bo Nickal’s big win over Paul Craig wasn’t enough to earn him a place in the middleweight top 15 – but it seems highly likely he’ll move through the rankings in 2025.
The 7-0 prospect’s next opponent will almost certainly be ranked. It remains to be seen exactly who that will be, but there’ll surely be a few fighters willing to step up.
Nickal has the name, fan base, and undefeated record that will appeal to fighters lingering towards the bottom of the 185lbs rankings.
Michel Pereira, Jack Hermansson, Anthony Hernandez, and Paulo Costa will likely be in the running for Nickal’s next fight.
For now, he’ll enjoy some downtime and wait for a call from the UFC bosses.
from Bloody Elbow https://ift.tt/mFelGyj
