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Daniel Cormier Reacts to Bo Nickal’s Blistering Criticism of UFC 309 Commentary

Daniel Cormier Reacts to Bo Nickal's Blistering Criticism of UFC 309 Commentary Bo Nickal wasn’t happy about Daniel Cormier’s commentary during his scrap with Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New…

Bo Nickal wasn’t happy about Daniel Cormier’s commentary during his scrap with Paul Craig at UFC 309 in New York City.

Nickal returned to the Octagon for a main card clash with ‘Bearjew’ inside Madison Square Garden, and while he secured his sixth straight win in MMA, it was a performance that left a lot of pundits underwhelmed.

Instead of utilizing the world-class wrestling that made him a three-time NCAA Division I national champion, Nickal opted to stand and trade with Craig, eeking out a fairly uneventful unanimous decision. During the three-round affair, fans inside the world’s most famous arena lambasted the former Nittany Lion, calling him overrated and showering him with boos.

Cormier was also critical on commentary, noting that Nickal had a long way to go before he’d be ready for someone like Khamzat Chimaev — a fighter Nickal has called out since his days on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Nickal voiced his frustration over Cormier’s pro-Khamzat commentary which sparked a response from the UFC Hall of Famer.

“Bo Nickal is a bit upset about the commentary during the fight last week,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve got to be honest, this one took me a little bit by surprise, because I do like Bo, and I do believe that at some point he’s going to be a champion. Bo said he took offense to the commentary, but I think he’s a little misguided. I think he may have misunderstood what I’m trying to say.”

“What I’m more trying to say in this fight is let’s not rush him into fights with people that are much more experienced, much more battle-tested, much more ready to compete at the highest level,” Cormier continued. “Because it feels like one of those situations where a young guy who has shown so much promise gets a little bit fast-tracked. We have seen this time and time again, where an athlete comes onto the scene, they do so well initially that they get overwhelmed because you don’t know what to do with him.”

Cormier went on to clarify his stance on a potential showdown between Nickal and Chimaev in the future, noting that his criticism doesn’t mean Nickal won’t ever be ready to fight ‘Borz.’ He just isn’t ready right now.

“People have already started to compare him to Khamzat Chimaev, how do they stack up, can he wrestle him, can he do this? I’m not saying he’s not ready for Khamzat because I don’t think he ever will be ready for Khamzat, right now he just isn’t,” Cormier added. “Bo Nickal has now seen the opposite side of fame. I wonder how he’s going to handle negativity coming his direction. I wasn’t negative.

“I have no problem with Bo Nickal. I believe he’s going to be fine. I don’t have a problem with the performance. I thought he fought really well, but there’s room for improvement. Everybody said it! Let’s just take our time. We don’t need to rush him, that’s all I’m saying.”

Bo Nickal Responds to Daniel Cormier’s Explanation

To Nickal’s credit, he was quick to squash any beef he had with Cormier after getting a detailed explanation from the former champ-champ.

“Absolutely agree,” Nickal said on X while sharing Cormier’s comments. “I have of room for improvement and I appreciate the clarification @dc_mma thank you.”

Alex Pereira’s Devastating Strikes Leave Opponent Blind in Title Bout

Blind or not, Khalil Rountree wasn’t about to throw in the towel against Alex Pereira. Much to the surprise…

Blind or not, Khalil Rountree wasn’t about to throw in the towel against Alex Pereira.

Much to the surprise of everyone, Rountree found himself with a shot at the reigning light heavyweight king at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. Though the announcement left a lot of fans scratching their heads, there was no doubt that the two heavy hitters would deliver an absolutely banger in The Crossroads of the West.

And that’s exactly what they did.

For nearly four rounds, ‘Poatan’ and ‘The War Horse’ went toe-to-toe with each fighter landing some big blows on the other. But in the end, it was Pereira who would come out on top, battering and bloodying Rountree en route to a TKO with only 32 seconds left in the penultimate round.

Khalil Rountree Couldn’t see against Alex Pereira but he didn’t care

Looking back on their entertaining clash during an appearance on the JAXXON podcast with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Rountree revealed that at one point during the fight he was essentially blind after absorbing some of Pereira’s brutal strikes.

“I mean, in the moment, you don’t necessarily feel it. Like, for instance, in the fight where this cut happened, I got hit –boom,” Rountree said. “I knew I’d been hit hard because my vision started to blur a little. But the second one that landed, the one that actually split my eye, I literally thought, “I’m blind. But f*ck it, I’m gonna keep going.”

“I couldn’t see anything after that. I just saw light — no shadows, no detail. It was like someone put a frosted film over everything. I was like, ‘I can’t see. I’m f*cking blind.’ But whatever, I’m not giving up. The sensation, though — I didn’t feel anything. The adrenaline was too high. I knew my eye was messed up, but I thought, ‘I’ll deal with it later.’”

The loss snapped Rountree’s five-fight win streak while moving Pereira to 9-1 under the UFC banner.

Vicente Luque urges Nick Diaz to ‘Seek help’ amid UFC 310 fight cancellation

Perennial welterweight contender, Vicente Luque has urged former title challenger, Nick Diaz to “seek help” if possible — after…

Perennial welterweight contender, Vicente Luque has urged former title challenger, Nick Diaz to “seek help” if possible — after their slated UFC 310 clash next month was shelved earlier this week, in place of a pairing with the surging, Thema Gorimbo.

Luque, who retains the number fourteen rank in the welterweight division, has been sidelined since himself since UFC Fight Night Atlantic City earlier this year, dropping a ground strikes TKO defeat to the streaking, Joaquin Buckley.

As for former welterweight title challenger, Diaz, the Stockton fan-favorite most recently fought in 2021, dropping a third round TKO loss to former undisputed welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler in the pair’s rematch.

Nick Diaz targeted UFC 300 comeback fight with Georges St-Pierre before booking Vicente Luque clash — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

And slated to fight Vicente Luque earlier this summer in a scrutinized UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia return, “travel issues” reportedly forced Diaz from the card, with the duo rescheduled to compete in December on the final flagship card of the annum.

However, pulled from the bout officially over the weekend in place of a bout between Luque and the above-mentioned, Gorimbo, speculation has been rife regarding the mental state of Diaz, with footage emerging of him attempting to light grass on fire on social media earlier this month.

Vicente Luque urges Nick Diaz to “seek help” amid viral video

And commenting on the bizarre footage, Brazilian-American veteran, Luque urged the former WEC and Strikeforce championship holder to “seek help” with many questioning his mental state.

“I don’t know exactly why [it was cancelled],” Vicente Luque said during a recent interview with MMA Fighting. “I saw that video of him in the streets, and he didn’t look OK. And more than anything, I hope his family and he’s taking care of himself. I hope he recovers and goes back to his best state possible.

“When I saw the video—first, I didn’t know if it was a recent video or not, but I kept thinking, if it’s recent, I hope he really seeks help to get out of the situation he’s in because Nick is a fighter I follow since before I was in the UFC. He has inspired me a lot in the past. What he’s done, fighting legends like B.J. Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Carlos Condit, many big names. You see his accomplishments, and see his state at 40 years of age, that’s not how I want to see any fighter.

Laura Sanko Gets Chills from UFC Talent Shavkat Rakhmonov

Laura Sanko’s admiration for undefeated finisher Shavkat Rakhmonov has been one of the more entertaining stories to come out…

Laura Sanko’s admiration for undefeated finisher Shavkat Rakhmonov has been one of the more entertaining stories to come out of the UFC in recent years.

It all started during the UFC 279 weigh-in show when Sanko exclaimed that the ‘Nomad’ gave her chills. More than her words, it was the delivery of said declaration that got everyone’s attention.

Things really started to heat up a few months later ahead of UFC 285 when Sanko appeared on the weigh-in show sporting a Kazakh Hat similar to the one Rakhomov wears to the Octagon. As Sanko curiously stroked the tail of the headwear and sang Rakhmonov’s praises, fans online went crazy, and an entire country instantly followed Sanko on Instagram.

Asked about Sanko’s comments during the UFC 285 media day, Rakhmonov acknowledged that he had seen the clip and found it quite humorous.

“Yes, of course. I saw that video,” Rakhmonov said through a translator when asked about the viral clip. “What can I say? As a man, you always like when a woman adores you. So…”

Sanko eventually did attempt to quell the rumors of her manufactured courtship with the welterweight star.

“Can we please address this? I don’t have a crush on the man. I like his fighting style,” Sanko said as she felt forced to clear the air. “An entire country thinks I do and I need to correct the record. Still a fan, I just don’t have a crush. The entire country of Kazakhstan is very excited about it because I got like 20,000 new followers after that day. No, I have a husband.”

Of course, that did little to kill the narrative that was already sweeping across social media.

Laura Sanko Admits She still gets chills from shavkat rakhmonov — and nothing else

Recently, Gabriel Gonzalez — the same MMA reporter who asked ‘Nomad’ about Sanko’s comments in March 2023 — caught up with the UFC color commentator and offered up an apology for his role in perpetuating the rumors.

“I almost forgot that you were responsible for that,” Sanko told Gonzalez. “You ask one question and the whole world lights on fire. I don’t know that you owe me an apology. You don’t owe me an apology. But it was certainly, um, it was really blown out of proportion. But that’s okay — I got quite a bit of Instagram following off of it.

“And I will say this: the Kazakh fans are absolutely amazing, and I’ve kind of fallen in love with this idea of Kazakhstan and its craziness for anything Shavkat-related.”

Though things may have gotten a little blown out of proportion — as Sanko stated — the former fighter admits to still getting chills when Rakhmonov puts his skills on display inside the Octagon, and she’s certainly not the only one.

“The internet — I’m not the only one that’s getting chills, guys. I’m not the only one that’s getting chills.”

Fortunately, Sanko and Rakhmonov’s home country won’t have to wait long to see ‘Nomad’ back in action. On Saturday, December 7, the 18-0 sensation returns to action for a potential welterweight title eliminator against fast-rising Irish star Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310 in Las Vegas.

Demetrious Johnson laments pay received during UFC run: ‘I was just f*cking gutted’

Former undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson has revealed he crunched the numbers from his gold laden tenure with…

Former undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson has revealed he crunched the numbers from his gold laden tenure with the Dana White-led promotion, claiming he was “f*cking gutted” to discover how underpaid he was during his time with the organization.

Johnson, a former undisputed flyweight champion and pound-for-pound number one fighter on the promotion’s books, departed the Octagon in a high-profile trad with ONE Championship, with Ben Askren moving the other way to the North American-based promotion back in 2018.

Dana White salutes Demetrious Johnson after retirement: 'I was defending him from the fans'

And calling time on his illustrious mixed martial arts career earlier this year, Kentucky native, Johnson — who is regarded as one of the greatest combat fighters of all-time, called time on his career following a trilogy unanimous decision win over Brazilian star, Adriano Moraes to defend the ONE Championship crown back in May of last year.

Adriano Moraes Demetrious Johnson ONE on Prime Video 1 1920X1280 63

**Demetrious Johnson admits he was “f*cking gutted” by UFC career earnings**

Still holding the record for most consecutive title fight victories and defenses under the banner of the UFC with a staggering 11 straight championship defenses, Johnson recently opened up on how underpaid he feels off the back of his tenure in the Octagon — claiming he was “gutted” to learn the figures are breaking down his fights.

“ONE Championship is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Demetrious Johnson told MMA Fighting. “The reason why I say that is on multiple fronts. Obviously the [UFC antitrust] lawsuit just went preliminary [approval] and I remember somebody said you take 23 per cent of whatever you made in the company and that’s what it would be [that you earned].”

“That time frame from 2011 all the way to 2017, I had 17 fights,” Demetrious Johnson explained. “I think 12 of them were world championship fights and five of them weren’t. So I did all the math, I did all that stuff and I was like what the f*ck? That’s all I made? I was in bed last night just doing the math. I was like godd*mn, I’m f*cking gutted. I was just gutted.”

“For being one of the best fighters in the world, at one point in time the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I was like f*ck, godd*mn. “If I would have done NBA, f*cking baseball, it would have been f*cking pennies on the dollar what I made in the UFC.”

Demetrious Johnson laments pay received during UFC run: ‘I was just f*cking gutted’

Former undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson has revealed he crunched the numbers from his gold laden tenure with…