SUMMARY
- Bo Nickal predicts Khamzat Chimaev to become the UFC Middleweight champion in the near future.
- Nickal, who slammed Chimaev's wrestling in the past, hopes to fight the Chechen-born fighter in front of a record UFC crowd.
American fighter Bo Nickal believes Khamzat Chimaev has the potential to be the UFC Middleweight Champion soon. Nickal has previously called out Chimaev and slammed his wrestling abilities. Chimaev had responded to Nickal with the same energy. Although it seemed there was an animosity brewing between the two, Nickal has predicted a championship for the Chechen-born fighter.
In an interview with Michael Bisping on the former UFC Middleweight Champion’s YouTube channel, Nickal was discussing the UFC middleweight division. He claimed, “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.”
(Watch from 22:20 minutes)
Chimaev has fought in the middleweight and the welterweight division in the UFC. He has defeated the likes of Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns at 170 and recently defeated Kamaru Usman at 185. Borz is undefeated much like Bo Nickal. Moreover, Nickal and Chimaev both possess a past filled with wrestling. However, Nickal was not impressed with Chimaev’s wrestling.
Bo Nickal called Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling “trash”
Chimaev is a three-time Swedish national freestyle wrestling champion. He won the gold medal twice in the 86 kg (190 lbs) category and once in the 92 kg (203 lbs) category.
Since he made his move to the UFC, Chimaev has used wrestling as well as his striking skills to earn an undefeated record. He is 13-0 in his pro-MMA career with 6 KOs and 5 submissions.
(Watch from 21:40 minutes)
“It’s trash,” Nickal said of Chimaev’s wrestling in an interview with Clash of Combat in 2023. “I wouldn’t even say mid-(level)… At the end of the day, I feel like I can say whatever about his wrestling skills, his fighting skills, this and that, we’re going to fight at some point and people will realize there’s levels.”
Nickal, on the other hand, is a US national champion in the 92 kg category and also a U23 World Champion in freestyle wrestling.
Chimaev responded to Nickal claiming that the Colorado-born fighter’s wrestling is American and his wrestling is mountain wrestling. Borz said he does not wrestle for points like Nickal.
Bo Nickal’s ideal fight against Khamzat Chimaev would be at an NFL stadium
In the same interview with Bisping, Nickal opened up about wanting to fight Chimaev before he retires. He said, “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.”
Ideally, Bo Nickal would want the fight to happen for the belt at the Allegiant Stadium- home of the Las Vegas Raiders. He wants the fight to happen in front of a record UFC crowd. “Ideally, we’re both undefeated, it’s for the belt and we do it at the Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders stadium, in front of 100,000 people and I just go do what I do,” he added.
According to the #UFCVegas88 broadcast, Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage will be opening the main card for #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/vveMfX7yoU
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 17, 2024
The current UFC record for the largest crowd is 57,127 at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, for UFC 243.
Bo Nickal is currently 5-0 in his pro-MMA career. He fought in Dana White’s Contender Series twice before making his UFC debut at UFC 285 against Jamie Pickett. He defeated Pickett via submission. In his last fight, Nickal defeated Val Woodburn via TKO at UFC 290.
The American is set to take on Cody Brundage at the milestone UFC 300 PPV. Amidst much backlash from fans, Nickal’s fight will be on the main card of the UFC 300 event which is set to take place on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
