UFC Middenweight Competent Bo Nickal entered the Octagon in UFC des Moines with some doubts.
The first UFC loss of Bo Nickal came into the hands of Reinier de Ridder's knees last Saturday in the UFC des Moines Co-Main event. In a stunning defeat, Nickal van de Ridder lost through the second round of TKO after De Ridder landed a brutal knee on the liver that collapsed the star perspective.
After he had introduced his earlier UFC fights as massive favorites, Nickal's preference was not so prominent on his way to UFC des Moines. De Ridder, a former two-division champion, remains unbeaten in his UFC official period with victories over people like Kevin Holland and Gerald Meerschaert.
Despite the highest confidence of Nickal in pre-combat interviews, the former NCAA Division I Wrestling National Champion felt some fear of entering UFC des Moines.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Bo Nickal was brutally honest against himself for the defeat of UFC des Moines
Before Nickal fell to De Ridder, Nickal was severely criticized for his performance in a matte fight against Paul Craig on UFC 309. While Nickal won the fight through a unanimous decision, many fans released him in Madison Square Garden for a less than thrilling show case in the octagon.
Only a handful of fighting in his MMA career, Nickal surprisingly felt the weight of the Ridder's experience in entering UFC des Moines.
During a recent interview on the Ariel Helwani show, Nickal was asked if he overlooked the knight that UFC des Moines came in and was brutally honest about how he thought the fight could come out.
“Absolutely not,” said Nickal. “I don't feel that I looked at RDR as someone I would blow through, I saw that as a really big test and a really big challenge. And of course I am sure, nobody in my situation or in this sport … We are all the confidence in guys, so the danger of the fight that came in, I felt absolutely as if there was a chance to have a chance.
“I was not really afraid that I would go in certain situations and did not realize that I am in danger, it just comes with experience. So that is an experience that I will be grateful to in the long term. He fought against his fight, and I also fought against his fight, so that is something that I want to learn to do in the future in the future.
Nickal just fought outside the UFC before he received the call to participate in the Contender Series of Dana White in 2022. After a dominant victory in his first DWCS fight, UFC Dana White Nickal offered a second fight to gather more experience, which was concerned about the lack of Nickal cage.
White's former worries came to bloom at UFC des Moines, while De Ridder Nickal surpassed in all aspects of the fight. Unlike some of his other fights, Nickal was unable to struggle for his elite against De Ridder, who has a dangerous ground game.
Reinier de Ridder predicted that big things came for Bo Nickal after UFC des Moines
Despite the stunning setback of Nickal at UFC des Moines, Nickal received a surprising approval after his first MMA loss. De Ridder, in a recent interview after the fight, praised Nickal as an 'F-Killer' who after a few years of cage experience will be one of the best contenders of the middleweight division.
Regarding the UFC Future of De Ridder, he called former title holder Sean Strickland immediately after UFC des Moines. Strickland did not respond to De Ridder's callout, because the former champion plot his comeback plot earlier this year he fell to Dricus du Plessis on UFC 312.
Calling 'fraud control' and other labels raining on Nickal after UFC des Moines. But despite the disappointing loss, Nickal still has enough time and potential to eventually become a top 15-caliber middleweight hunter.