When the next rankings drop, Bo Nickal’s only UFC loss will be to a top-5 contender.
The Netherlands’ Reinier de Ridder impressed in his fourth UFC fight when he took on former champion Robert Whittaker in his first main event.
De Ridder edged Whittaker in a hard-fought five-round fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday, winning a controversial split decision.
De Ridder earned a crack at Whittaker after he knocked out highly-touted wrestler Bo Nickal with a knee to the body at UFC Des Moines in May. This was Nickal’s first UFC loss, with many fans claiming he had been ‘fraud checked’.
While the narrative seems to have changed for Nickal following de Ridder’s performance over Whittaker, some argued Nickal was the ‘most overrated’ fighter on the UFC roster for claiming he could outwrestle the likes of undefeated title challenger Khamzat Chimaev.
Daniel Cormier explains why Bo Nickal isn’t ‘overrated’
On the Pound 4 Pound Podcast, former two-division UFC champion and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier was asked who he thinks the most overrated and underrated fighters in the UFC are.
Cormier stated UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja was the most underrated fighter, but he couldn’t name an overrated fighter.
“I’m thinking of guys. I’m thinking of women. There’s no name that pops off the page at me,” Cormier answered.
” I’ll help you out with that… Bo Nickal,” Henry Cejudo suggested.
“I don’t think he’s overrated,” Cormier disagreed.
“I think self worth and self value is very important. I think his self worth was a little higher than he thought it should be, and that forced the company to move him faster than he needed to be moved. So, I don’t think he’s overrated.”
The 29-year-old Nickal is 4-1 in the UFC, coming off his first loss to yesterday’s headliner de Ridder. The NCAA wrestler made his pro MMA debut a little more than three years ago in 2022.
“I think he’s right where he should be at this point in his career,” Cormier said of the unranked Nickal.
“But when you start talking… Bo starts talking about Khamzat [after submitting Cody Brundage].
“Seriously, Bo starts talking about Khamzat. They put him in there with Paul Craig. At one point, he was in the top 15. Now once you beat a guy in the top 15 or that was in the top 15, they have to move you forward.
“And so then RDR gets him and honestly, RDR should have been favored to get him. Champion. One [Championship]. But, again, it’s like all the hype. I think he just got himself moved faster than he needed to get moved,” Cormier added.
Bo Nickal sends message to Reinier de Ridder after UFC Abu Dhabi win
De Ridder heard from his former foe Nickal after beating Whittaker.
Nickal hopes one day they’ll meet in a rematch, but for now, the wrestler keeps it classy.
“Congrats to RDR, that was a great fight,” Nickal wrote on X.
“Title shot next.
“I have a long, long way to go but I will keep improving, getting better and maybe we rematch someday,” Nickal added.