Bo Nickal discusses potential bout vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Bo Nickal criticizes Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling skills…

Bo Nickal has expressed his desire to fight Khamzat Chimaev, and despite respecting Chimaev’s MMA skills, Nickal is not impressed by his wrestling skills.

Nickal gave his candid take on Chimaev’s wrestling prowess in an interview with Michael Bisping. He also broke down how a grappling contest would play out between them.

Nickal shared that he stumbled upon a video featuring Chimaev competing, finding it amusing. He noted that the video was from several years ago.

“Literally, the only thing he did was fake, fake, fake double leg. I’m like, dude, we have every eight-year-old in Pennsylvania can do that exact same thing, like at the same skill level you’re doing, and yeah, he wrestled hard and stuff, but I was just like, this guy is a good wrestler?” said Nickal.

Nickal also said that he did not mean to be pessimistic about Chimaev’s skills, but he believed that he would easily defeat Chimaev in a wrestling match. He maintained that being a good wrestler on the mat differs from being a good grappler inside the Octagon.

However, Nickal acknowledged Chimaev’s ability to transition from wrestling to MMA and gave him credit for becoming a well-rounded fighter.

The fighters’ track records so far

Both Nickal and Chimaev are currently undefeated rising UFC stars. Nickal won his first five professional MMA fights, including two in the UFC. His last victory was a knockout over Val Woodburn within 23 seconds at UFC 290.

Despite only having five professional fights on his resume, Nickal has already heard all kinds of fantasy matchmaking, including one against Chechen-Swedish fighter Chimaev.

Meanwhile, Chimaev has been absent from the UFC for a long time. “Borz” last fought in September when he defeated Gilbert Burns.

Chimaev has a 12-0 record in the UFC, winning six consecutive fights, including three finishes within eight weeks. He has been linked to a potential fight against former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, indicating a potential move up to middleweight.

Chimaev will likely return to the cage at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi in October. However, there has been no official fight announcement yet.