Bo Nickal feels he’s ready for Khazmat Chimaev right away.
The newest member of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) roster hasn’t even fought for five minutes in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career as a whole. After Nickal made his initial callout of Chimaev following his contract-winning performance last week (Sept. 27, 2022), Chimaev hit the upstart with a “Who’s that guy?”
Despite his lack of MMA experience compared to Chimaev, Nickal sees his overall experience as a factor that leaves him more than capable of hanging with one of the sport’s most feared competitors.
“First off, this dude talks about [how] he’s ready to go always, he’s a gangster, this and that,” Nickal told The MMA Hour. “Bro, you can’t even beat the scale. Like, what’re you doing? This is just a dude that has no accountability and who doesn’t treat the sport professionally. That makes me way less nervous to fight him in the future because we’re gonna fight and I know that he’s not committed like I am. He’s not willing to do the things that I’m willing to do.
“Yeah, he’s talented, yeah, he has skills,” he concluded. “But if that’s how you approach the sport, that’s how you treat it, we’re on different levels.”
Nickal looks to add to his undefeated record with a fourth straight victory in his promotional debut at UFC 282 on Dec. 10, 2022, against Jamie Pickett. Meanwhile, “Borz” is still No. 3 in the Welterweight rankings after missing weight by 7.5 pounds at UFC 279. He’s teased a move back up to Nickal’s division, Middleweight, but no final decision has been made as of yet.
“People will act like I’m talking crazy because I’m ready to go with Chimaev, let’s get it,” Nickal said. “But the reality is, this dude won three national titles in Sweden and then came into MMA and has 10 fights. Bro, I’ve been competing since I was 5. I had 120-plus NCAA wrestling matches. I won a U-23 world championship. I’m coming with 10 times the experience that you have. So, when people say, ‘You’re not ready, stay in your lane,’ y’all don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You’ll see what happens when we get in the cage.”