Growing UFC star Bo Nickal has slammed middleweight rival Khamzat Chimaev after the Chechen withdrew from his scheduled main event against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia this coming Saturday.
Last week, UFC CEO, Dana White, announced that feared middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev, is out of his scheduled UFC Saudi Arabia main event against Robert Whittaker, because of severe illness.
The UFC boss announced that unranked 185lber, Ikram Aliskerov, is stepping in on late notice to take on the former middleweight champion.
Bo Nickal believes Khamzat Chimaev is ‘losing his aura’
‘Borz’ was once regarded as one of the most avoided and feared fighters in the promotion and was widely touted as a future two-weight world champion.
Despite that, the 30-year-old has consistently struggled with ongoing health issues over the past few years, which has severely halted his momentum.
Fellow middleweight star, Bo Nickal, has an ongoing feud with Chimaev, as the Chechen has previously claimed that Nickal can’t wrestle, despite his storied collegiate wrestling background.
With Khamzat pulling out of yet another fight, Nickal has suggested that Chimaev is ‘losing his aura’. The 30-year-old has been scheduled to main event on five separate occasions, however, every time the bout has been canceled.
“That dude is losing his aura a bit,” Nickal began on the recent episode of the Nickals and Dimes Podcast. “He just needs to keep freaking winning and not doing this crap.
“Who was his last fight? (He hasn’t fought a real 185lber) ever. Just don’t get sick,” the 28-year-old jabbed.
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Rumors began to circulate that Chimaev withdrew from his fight against Whittaker because of food poisoning, however, that is not believed to be correct.
“I don’t think he’s overtraining, I think he’s over partying. I’ve just heard rumors of him and (Darren) Till and stuff, like crazy stuff,” Nickal claimed.
Dana White admits it’s ‘tough to deal with’ Khamzat’s ongoing issues
Not only does Chimaev continue to run into medical issues, but the 30-year-old is unable to attain a visa into America, meaning he is only able to compete on the UFC’s events in the Middle East.
‘Borz’s’ last fight came at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi this past October, where he narrowly beat late notice step in, Kamaru Usman, over a close three rounds.
UFC boss, Dana White, recently admitted that it is ‘tough’ to deal with Chimaev’s ongoing issues because of the fact that he is on the opposite side of the world.
“Lately, it’s been hard to get him into the Octagon, every time he gets close to fighting he gets really sick, I don’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s in America so we can have doctors look at him, he’s so out of touch so it’s tough to deal with,” White admitted on the Jim Rome Show.
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