Tim Welch, a former MMA fighter who now coaches ex-bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, is convinced that undefeated 185-pound up-and-comer Bo Nickal is the only fighter capable of stopping fellow unbeaten middleweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev.
But not until he grows up in 2026.
“I tweeted, ‘Bo Nickal might be our only hope.’ [People] were fired up about that. I didn’t mean Bo Nickal right now,” Welch said on YouTube. “[I] feel like Bo Nickal right now might get beat up by Khamzat.”
“But in a year-and-a-half, if Bo keeps developing his striking, he’s one guy who could match his wrestling in the middleweight division,” Welch continued.
Nickal would certainly be a step up from Swedish teenagers.
Chimaev (14-0) may not have to worry about Nickal for quite some time, considering he’s ranked No. 3 in the division after laying waste to Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. As for Nickal (6-0), he remains unranked at middleweight but can add to his winning ways when he battles Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New York.