Tag: bo nickal

Bo Nickal Believes Khamzat Chimaev would ‘Beat Up’ Leon Edwards in potential title tilt, talks ‘Rocky’ vs. Makhachev

Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev, and Islam MakhachevBo Nickal believes reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards would get pummeled by Khamzat Chimaev but expects a potential…

Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev, and Islam Makhachev

Bo Nickal believes reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards would get pummeled by Khamzat Chimaev but expects a potential clash between ‘Rocky’ and Islam Makhachev to be fairly competitive.

Edwards is coming off a solid five-round performance against Colby Covington at UFC 296 to retain his title. Next on the docket for ‘Rocky’ should be a rematch with No. 2 ranked contender Belal Muhammad, but it seems like everyone outside of the welterweight division is chomping at the bit to get their hands on Edwards.

Immediately following the final fight of 2023, Islam Makhachev called for a clash with Leon Edwards in 2024, claiming he could finish both Edwards and Covington.

Khamzat Chimaev has also suggested moving back down to 170 in hopes of claiming his first world title at the expense of Edwards

Rising middleweight prospect Bo Nickal believes a fight between Edwards and Makhachev could be fairly competitive. However, the former three-time NCAA Division I National Champion suggested that ‘Rocky’ would get thoroughly manhandled by the undefeated Chechen monster.

“I think there are guys that are going to be able to give him some resistance and stuff,” Nickal said of Edwards on his YouTube channel. “If Khamzat [Chimaev] goes back down, that’s a freaking tough fight for him. Islam would be a tough fight for him, as well, but I think that’s really competitive.

“I feel like Khamzat comes down, he would probably beat him up. But Islam coming up, even though he’s a big 55’er, Leon’s big. Leon can freaking strike. Colby was able to hold him down a good amount, so who knows? And Leon’s smart, he keeps his cool so, I don’t know” (h/t The News & Observer).

The Impressive Win Streaks of Edwards, Chimaev, and Makhachev

Khamzat Chimaev kicked off his UFC career scoring three finishes in eight weeks. Since then, his pace has slowed, though his success inside the Octagon has been nonetheless impressive. Chimaev has earned victories over Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, and former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman in his last three appearances.

Chimaev is currently rumored to be in talks for a fight with two-time middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 300 in April, though no official announcements have been made.

As for Islman Makhachev, the reigning lightweight king is coming off an impressive first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. ‘The Great’ stepped in on 11 days’ notice to run back their instant classic from February and ultimately paid the price, suffering a vicious head-kick KO.

“And Islam, he’s not 100 percent grappler,” Nickal continued. “He tries to strike a lot with all the guys he’s fought pretty much.”

Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev are both on a 13-fight win streak while Leon Edwards has bested his last 12 opponents in a row.

Prospect of the Year – LowKick MMA 2023 Awards

Prospect of the Year LowKick MMA 2023 awards UFCThis year has seen the emergence of a slew of contenders across the board and multiple divisions in the…

Prospect of the Year LowKick MMA 2023 awards UFC

This year has seen the emergence of a slew of contenders across the board and multiple divisions in the UFC — from almost top-to-bottom.

From the likes of unbeaten starlet, Bo Nickal, to Japanese up and comer, Tatsuro Taira, an even PFL prospect, Dakota Ditcheva, the above trio have stood out leaps and bounds ahead of the rest in terms for bang for your buck for their respective organizations — with each possessing massive career ceilings by the looks of things. However, as far as standouts are concerned, amateur wrestling phenom, Bo Nickal has received the majority of votes by staff at LowKick MMA — crowning him as our Prospect of the Year for 2023.

Prospect of the Year – Bo Nickal – UFC – 2-0-0 (5 votes)

Reveared ahead of his eventual move to the UFC following a pair of bouts on Dana White’s Contender Series, Colorado-born grappling ace, Bo Nickal has already received billing as a surefire top-contender at the middleweight limit in the future — if not a future gold holder.

Nickal, 27, improved his unbeaten professional record to first 4-0 then 5-0 by the end of the summer, landing consecutive victories by submission over Jamie Pickett, and then Val Woodburn with a hasty first round knockout, respectively.

Booked to make his third appearance in the Octagon next year, Nickal returns at a monumental UFC 300 card next April, taking on Cody Brundage.

Honorable Mentions –

Shavkat Rakhmonov – UFC – 2-0-0 (1 vote)

Likely just making the cut-off point to be considering an out-and-out prospect — unbeaten Uzbekistan finishing machine, Shavkat Rakhmonov demonstrated why many have tipped him to win welterweight gold before the end of next year — laying waste to perennial contender, Stephen Thompson in one-sided fashion last weekend.

The 18-0 fighter landed his whopping eighteenth consecutive stoppage win at UFC 296 earlier this month with his second round rear-naked choke win over Thompson, having stopped Geoff Neal with a brutal third round standing rear-naked choke back in March.

Earning the number three rank with his win over Thompson, Rakhmonov has been touted to challenge Leon Edwards for welterweight gold potentially as soon as his next outing.

Tatsuro Taira – UFC – 3-0-0 (1 vote)

Turning in an unbeaten three-fight tenure in the UFC this year, surging Japanese prospect, Tatusro Taira ended the year with a top-15 cracking display against Carlos Hernandez at the beginning of the month, landing in the ranks at the flyweight limit — as well as improving to 15-0 as a professional. This year alone, Taira, 23, has beaten the aforenoted, Hernandez to go with a win over Edgar Chairez, and Jesus Santos Aguilar.

Dakota Ditcheva – PFL – 3-0-0 (1 vote)

British flyweight striker, Dakota Ditcheva not only brought an end to her 2023 schedule boasting an impressive 10-0 undefeated record, but also landed the PFL (Professional Fighters League) Europe flyweight tournament success at the flyweight limit, amid a run of three consecutive finishes.

Ditcheva, 25, has been revered for her impressive striking ability, landing eight career stoppages via knockout so far — the most recent of which in her TKO success against Valentina Scattizi in Dublin earlier this month — minting herself as the PFL flyweight champion of Europe.

Full list of the LowKick MMA 2023 Prospect of the Year votes:

Ross Markey: Bo Nickal

Ian Shutts: Bo Nickal

Craig Pekios: Bo Nickal

Makoa Goble: Shavkat Rakhmonov

Tony King: Bo Nickal

Red Pill MMA: Bo Nickal

Michael Owens: Dakota Ditcheva

Danny Podolsky: Tatsuro Taira

Bo Nickal books fighting return at UFC 300, ex-Champion Aljamain Sterling set for featherweight debut

Bo Nickal set for return at UFC 300 in fight against Cody Brundage Aljamain Sterling makes featherweight moveUnbeaten middleweight prospect, Bo Nickal is set for his return to the Octagon next year – booking an April…

Bo Nickal set for return at UFC 300 in fight against Cody Brundage Aljamain Sterling makes featherweight move

Unbeaten middleweight prospect, Bo Nickal is set for his return to the Octagon next year – booking an April return against Cody Brundage at UFC 300 as part of what promises to be a monumental card – which overnight received the addition of two former promotional champions to boot.

Nickal, a two-time feature on Dana White’s Contender Series, most recently featured at UFC 290 back in July, landing a stunning first round knockout win over short-notice replacement, Val Woodburn in his sophomore Octagon walk.

Bo Nickal set for high-profile run out on UFC 300 card

In his first UFC start back in March, the 27-year-old amateur wrestling phenom submitted Jamie Pickett with a first round arm-triangle choke submission, earning him a Performance of the Night bonus to boot.

And as per UFC CEO, Dana White, Bo Nickal will take on Cody Brundage at UFC 300 in April of next year – as the card begins to take certain shape.

Booked for a featherweight division debut on the pay-per-view card, former undisputed bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling makes his long-anticipated debut at 145 pounds – taking on perennial contender, fellow East Coast feature, Calvin Kattar.

Sterling has been sidelined since he suffered a second round knockout loss to Sean O’Malley in the pair’s championship showdown at UFC 292 back in August of Boston, while the above-mentioned Kattar has yet to feature since suffered a brutal knee injury in a TKO loss to British contender, Arnold Allen.

Also slated for the UFC 300 card is recent headliner, former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka, who takes on Austrian contender, Aleksandar Rakic in a high-stakes divisional pairing. 

Prochazka most recently headlined UFC 295 last month, succumbing to second round strikes against Alex Pereira in the pair’s vacant title fight, while another ghastly knee injury has sidelined Rakic since he suffered said setback against former champion, Jan Blachowicz at the UFC Apex facility last year. 

Can Bo Nickal retain his unbeaten record at UFC 300 next year?

Khamzat Chimaev issues warning to Bo nickal ahead of UFC 294: ‘I’m going to come up and smash his face’

Khamzat ChimaevKhamzat Chimaev sent a word of warning to undefeated prospect Bo Nickal after the three-time NCAA Division I National…

Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev sent a word of warning to undefeated prospect Bo Nickal after the three-time NCAA Division I National Champion called the Chechen’s wrestling skills “trash” in a past interview.

After it was revealed that Paulo Costa was out of his co-main event clash with Chimaev at UFC 294 due to a nasty infection in his elbow, Nickal, a 5-0 fighter with an incredible average fight time of 1:20, immediately called out ‘Borz’ in hopes of snatching the short-notice opportunity.

As we now know, the UFC went in a different direction, booking former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman to step in and take on Chimaev on 10 days’ notice. Nickal quickly expressed his frustration over being passed up by the promotion.

“I was disappointed they didn’t ask me to step in there,” he said on his YouTube channel. “I was expecting at least an ask like, ‘Hey, you want to to this?’ But, no. Just nothing. Nothing from the UFC. It is what it is. I’m guessing they didn’t want me to roll over into Abu Dhabi on 10 days’ notice and smash their boy in front of his home crowd or something.”

The likelier scenario is that the UFC simply didn’t want to put one of their biggest stars in the cage against an unranked fighter who’s only had two fights inside the Octagon, but that’s a far less interesting headline.

Khamzat Chimaev says wrestling in the UFC is far different than when doing it for points

Asked about Nickal’s comments during his appearance at the UFC 294 media event ahead of fight night, Chimaev was fairly dismissive of Nickal’s comments about his wrestling skills, but ‘Borz’ did offer a word of warning to the Nittany Lion should the two ever step inside the Octagon.

“I don’t know what this guy’s saying. He’s not wrestling for the points, man,” Chimaev said. “Here, we don’t play wrestling. This is fighting, man. I don’t care if somebody takes me down. I’m going to come up and smash his face. I don’t think this guy can come to the cage and take me down. It’s not wrestling. We don’t stay like wrestlers.”

Khamzat Chimaev enters his 13th career fight with an undefeated record of 12-0. That includes six wins under the UFC banner with only one of them going the distance. That would be his unanimous decision victory over Gilbert Burns in April 2022. The bout was Chimaev’s first major test inside the Octagon and while he faced some adversity, ‘Borz’ did more than enough to walk away the winner and prove to the naysayers that he is the real deal.

If he can leave Etihad Arena with a win over Kamaru Usman on Saturday night, Chimaev will secure himself an opportunity to face reigning middleweight world champion Sean Strickland.

Bo Nickal ‘Disappointed’ to miss UFC 294 fight with Khamzat Chimaev: ‘They don’t want me to smash their boy’

Bo Nickal disappointed to miss UFC 294 fight with Khamzat Chimaev they don't want me to smash their boyUndefeated wrestling ace, Bo Nickal has revealed he never received any contact from promotional brass regarding a potential slot-in, short-notice fight with Khamzat Chimaev next weekend at UFC 294 – claiming he would likely have “smashed” the Chechen-born finisher with ease. Nickal, a decorated amateur record, boasts an unbeaten 5-0 professional wrestler, landing a pair […]

Bo Nickal disappointed to miss UFC 294 fight with Khamzat Chimaev they don't want me to smash their boy

Undefeated wrestling ace, Bo Nickal has revealed he never received any contact from promotional brass regarding a potential slot-in, short-notice fight with Khamzat Chimaev next weekend at UFC 294 – claiming he would likely have “smashed” the Chechen-born finisher with ease.

Nickal, a decorated amateur record, boasts an unbeaten 5-0 professional wrestler, landing a pair of consecutive stoppage victories in two middleweight outings since landing in the UFC back in March of this year.

A product of Dana White’s Contender Series amid a pair of outings on the show, Nickal debuted with a first round arm-triangle submission win over Jamie Pickett, before stopping short-notice replacement Val Woodburn with a thunderous opening round TKO inside just 38 seconds back in July at UFC 290 during International Fight Week. 

Requiring a replacement opponent ahead of his UFC 294 return next weekend in a co-headliner, Chimaev was originally slated to fight one-time title challenger, Paulo Costa, however, a bursitis infection ruled the Brazilian from the bout.

In place of Costa came former undisputed welterweight champion and former pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman – who makes his first outing at the middleweight limit, following a title fight loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 286 back in March. 

Bo Nickal reveals no fight offer to meet Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294

However, despite calls from some fans for Chimaev to take on the above-mentioned Colorado uber-prospect, Nickal on just 10 days’ notice, the latter has revealed the UFC never approached him with an offer to fight the undefeated finisher.

“I was a little disappointed they [the UFC] didn’t ask me [to fight Khamzat Chimaev],” Bo Nickal said on his YouTube channel. “They didn’t ask me to step in there. I was expected at least an ask like, ‘Hey, do you want to do this?’ But no, just nothing. Nothing from the UFC, so it is what it is.”

“I’m guessing that they didn’t want me to roll over into Abu Dhabi on like 10 days’ notice and smash their boy in front of his home crowd or something,” Bo Nickal explained. “That’s a fight that needs to have a proper buildup and whatnot, so I get that. It was just interesting to me because I probably got today – I don’t even know how many comments and DMs and this and that.” 

Would you like to see Bo Nickal fight Khamzat Chimaev in the future?

UFC prospect Bo Nickal slams the wrestling skills of undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev: ‘It’s trash’

Bo NickalBo Nickal doesn’t think too highly of Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling skills. After six fights and six decisive wins inside the Octagon, Khamzat Chimaev has looked practically unstoppable, but three-time NCAA Division I national champion Bo Nickal is far from impressed, suggesting that the Chechen fighter’s wrestling skills are mid. “It’s trash,” Nickal said in an […]

Bo Nickal

Bo Nickal doesn’t think too highly of Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling skills.

After six fights and six decisive wins inside the Octagon, Khamzat Chimaev has looked practically unstoppable, but three-time NCAA Division I national champion Bo Nickal is far from impressed, suggesting that the Chechen fighter’s wrestling skills are mid.

“It’s trash,” Nickal said in an interview with Clash of Combat. “I wouldn’t even say mid-(level).”

Nickal, who also boasts an undefeated record in mixed martial arts, has called out Chimaev on multiple occasions making their potential clash seemingly inevitable.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I can say whatever about his wrestling skills, his fighting skills, this and that, we’re going to fight at some point and people will realize there’s levels,” Nickal said. “It’s just so funny, you go into a world of MMA where there’s no other sport where people know less and think they know more” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Bo Nickal Curious to See How Khamzat Chimaev Looks Against at Top-Ten Middleweight

On October 21, Chimaev will make his first appearance inside the Octagon in more than a year as he is set to square off with one-time UFC title challenger Paulo Costa. Speaking about the high-profile clash in Abu Dhabi, Bo Nickal believes Chimaev will come out on top, but believes the undefeated Chechen monster may face a tougher-than-expected task moving up from welterweight to middleweight.

“I think it’s going to be a good fight,” Nickal said. “Probably – I think he probably will. It’s definitely a different ball game when you go from 170 to 185. We’re talking about a different size human being.”

Bo Nickal also suggested that Chimaev’s ability to make 170 pounds is a tell-tale sign that ‘Borz’ would stand no chance against the sizeable middleweight that Nickal is. Nevertheless, Nickal is looking forward to seeing what Chimaev can do against someone as formidable as Paulo Costa at UFC 294 this fall.

“We’ll see how he does,” Nickal continued. “He’s obviously a big ’70, but it’s a different size human, and to me, anybody who can make 170, none of those dudes are going to be competitive with me. Costa is a different story, I’m going to watch the fight, so we’ll see how he does.”