Bo Nickal has shared that his ‘ideal’ path to the UFC middleweight title would include a sold-out stadium show against a fellow undefeated phenom.
An undefeated record breads undefeated self-confidence and ahead of his UFC 300 main card feature against Cody Brundage, fan favorite Bo Nickal has laid out his ‘ideal’ route to the middleweight title – including fighting at the Allegiant Stadium in front of 100,000 people.
Bo Nickal returns on the main card of UFC 300 in April
Undefeated 5-0 middleweight prospect Bo Nickal returns to the octagon in just a few weeks on the main card of UFC 300, scheduled to face 10-5 South Carolina native, Cody Brundage.
Nickal has rattled off two impressive wins in the UFC since going two-for-two on Dana White’s Contender Series, a first-round submission of Jamie Pickett and a first-round TKO of Val Woodburn.
After suffering three consecutive losses, Brundage earned back-to-back victories in 2023 – both of which also came in the very first round, albeit one being via disqualification.
Bo Nickal explains his route to UFC gold, who he expects to be champion
Many within the MMA space are expecting Nickal to one day challenge for a UFC world championship, but with the 28-year-old only just starting to make his mark in the promotion, the top of the middleweight division might look entirely different when the American eventually earns his shot.
Speaking to Michael Bisping on the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Nickal made a bold prediction on who he expects the champion to be:
“If I were to predict who the champion will be, the way I see this division going, I feel like a guy who could be up there is Khamzat [Chimaev]. He’s a bad matchup and a tough fight for all those guys [in the Top 5] …He’ll probably fight for the belt in one or two more fights.”
Nickal said that he would “love to fight” Khamzat Chimaev when he’s gotten more experience in the UFC octagon, noting that whilst he holds no animosity towards ‘Borz’, it’s a victory that he needs to earn for his own personal career goals:
“I see him probably being the champ and that’s a dude that I would love to fight, I know I said it’s never personal for me but he’s a guy that I feel like just has this crazy reputation who I absolutely have to take out before my career is over.”
A potential UFC world title fight between two undefeated stars would certainly sell out any arena in North America, but Nickal has bigger plans in mind.
“Ideally, we’re both undefeated, it’s for the belt and we do it at the Allegiant Stadium, [home of] the Raiders, in front of 100,000 people and I just go do what I do…That would be ideal.”
Bo Nickal takes on Cody Brundage on April 13 at UFC 300 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.