The astonishing loss of Bo Nickal at UFC des Moines remembered a large part of one of his crooked setbacks.
UFC Middleweight Prospect Bo Nickal suffered one of the greatest disturbances of the year in the UFC des Moines Co-Headliner.
Nickal, a former NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler and then subdivided UFC star, was confronted with the heaviest on-paper test of his career in the Octagon against former champion Reinier de Ridder. Nickal was shocking to get his way on the floor against De Ridder, one of the elite jokes of the middleweight division, and was eliminated with a liver attack in round 2.
It was the first professional MMA loss of Nickal's career after the start of his UFC official period with two separate Dana White Contender Series Bout victories. For De Ridder he moves to 3-0 in the UFC after the former double champion drew during the promotion.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Bo Nickal gets a strong encouragement from Henry Cejudo after the first MMA loss
The loss of Nickal was without a doubt the most shocking moment of UFC des Moines. While the main event was supplied with a Cory Sandhagen TKO victory, the defeat of Nickal for which the card is the most reminded.
But Nickal is far from the only Blue-Chip MMA front view that suffers a setback early in their UFC official period. Such a former prospect and current UFC star did not hesitate to encourage Nickal after the disappointing loss.
In a recent message to X, former two -division champion Henry Cejudo shared a stylish message after the fight when comparing one of his most notorious defeats.
“The wrestling world has taken a hit today. Hold your head up [Bo Nickal] This is not the end, “wrote Cejudo after the loss of Nickal.
“I was finished by Demetrious Johnson with a similar body -shot and I continued to avenge that loss and became champion. You are able to do the same.
“Go back on your horse brother.”
In his first career UFC Flyweight-Title shot against Demetrious Johnson, Cejudo lost to UFC 197, before he finally took revenge on UFC 227. He won both the UFC fly weight and the Bantamweight titles to become one of the only two-Weight World champions of the promotion.
Reinier de Ridder called a former champion after UFC des Moines won
As far as De Ridder is concerned, he called former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland in his interview after the fight. Strickland has not responded at the moment. But a booking for De Ridder against a top 10 middleweight makes very logical.
Nickal went overweight in the UFC des Moines Fight Week around 37 pounds, which gave many fans and experts introduced to the event. But Nickal successfully made the 186 LB limit on Friday, she was exhausted and postponed.
Nickal came in UFC des Moines and arrived in November a brightly criticized victory over Paul Craig over UFC 309. It was the first time that Nickal went the full distance in his MMA career.