Bo Nickal has got a tall mountain to climb during UFC Des Moines fight week.
On May 3, he will look to enter the rankings at 185-pounds by beating Reinier de Ridder but in order to get the better of the submission specialist, there was an adjustment he wanted to make.
Nickal received criticism for his win over Paul Craig at UFC 309 where the fight played out as a striking contest before the American secured a unanimous decision win.
The wrestling specialist has already proven that whilst grappling is his best skillset, he has power in his hands with Nickal stopping Val Woodburn in just 38 seconds but this wasn’t the issue.
Coming away from Madison Square Garden last November, Nickal decided that he needed to put on some additional size to compete with the top middleweights but his actions have come with consequences.
Bo Nickal says he’s paying the price of bulking up following staggering fight week weight check
In a video posted on his Instagram during fight week, Bo Nickal stepped on the scale which recorded a total of 222.6 pounds, meaning he was more than 36 pounds over the middleweight limit of 186.
There are multiple factors to take into consideration with the fact that he’s fully clothed and that as an accomplished wrestler, he’s no stranger to weight cutting.
The number was still a cause for concern amongst many fans as they questioned how Nickal will be able to work his way down ahead of May 3.
In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri, the undefeated contender spoke about the reaction to the video and whether he purposefully did it to stress fans out.
He responded by stating that it was a goal of his to be bigger in this fight and whilst he may have overdone it, he’s prepared to deal with that before stepping on the official scales on Friday.
“A big portion of this fight camp for me has been bulking up. I wanted to get a little bit bigger for the weight and so, might have went a little too far with it, but that’s just, now I’m suffering a little bit of the consequences of that.
“So, it’s part of the weight cut process and I’ve never missed weight before in my life, since I’ve been 5-years-old wrestling.
“I’ve weighed in hundreds of times so I feel confident I’ll be able to get it done and yeah, it might stress people out a little bit, but it’s just part of the job for me.”
Fans question whether Bo Nickal faked fight week weigh-in in social media reactions
Bo Nickal had a reasonable explanation for why his weight was so high when he stepped on the scales during fight week in Iowa.
Despite his plan to put on some additional size, fight fans weren’t entirely convinced by the video for one specific reason.
The way that the video is edited suggests that it wasn’t Nickal who recorded that weight because he isn’t in the shot when the reading comes through, he is only seen stepping onto the scale and reacting to the number.
Whether he was telling the truth or not, the moment that Nickal steps on the scales is sure to be a tense moment this Friday.