Blue-Chip Prospect Bo Nickal 'needs work' after its first loss at UFC des Moines.
The decorated wrestling champion from Penn State had spoken to a big match about his UFC career early and said he would not be surprised if he was a huge favorite against Khamzat Chimaev in a non-ZO potential fight.
Bo Nickal signed at the UFC after just one professional fight on the regional scene and a few fights on the competition series, leveling in terms of competition with every fight he won.
The UFC has not held Nickal any favors by matching him with former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder in UFC des Moines where Nickal fell to 7-1 after eating a brutal knee to the body in round 2.
After many mixed reactions from the MMA world, an ex-PUC star suggests the most important promotion that Nickal removes from the selection.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Josh Thomson says that the UFC Bo Nickal should reduce for development
Nickal's opponent De Ridder had his MMA experience three times. The Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo has only lost from the current two-part champion Anatoly Malykhin in his 22-fighter career.
Although the step-up in competition was clear with RDR, former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson suggests a huge step for nickal-out the outside of the UFC.
“The way he lost … the UFC, I really say to him, like, do you know what? You probably have to spend a good eight months, and you have to go, you have to sharpen everything,” said Thomson on the weighing in Podcast.
'We're going to give you some time …
“We are almost going to do the way we did with Mason Jones or what we did with Youssef Zalal, and we are going to send you a little. We give you eight months or whatever.”
Mason Jones and Youssef Zalal were cut by the UFC after exchanging victories and losing in their first UFC runs, later returning to the Octagon after gaining more experience on the regional scene.
“He needs work,” Thomson said about Nickal's performance to De Ridder.
“It was a lot to tell how much work he needs.”
Josh Thomson saw Bo Nickal vs. Torrez Finney happen
Instead of the UFC Nickal completely lost, the legendary MMA referee 'Big' John McCarthy threw a different idea: a fight with 5'8 ″ Middleweight Torrez Finney.
Finney went viral last year after UFC CEO Dana White said he would be 'absolutely decimated' in the UFC when he won his second fight on Contender Series. Finney finally turned out to be WHITE wrong by drawing at the promotion in his third performance in the show and also by winning his debut last month.
Unbeaten on 11-0, short and stocky of Finney for the middleweight division with decent wrestling.
“Both had several fights in the Dana White Contender Series,” said Thomson about Nickal vs. Finney.
'I could see that fight [happening].
“To be honest, with Torrez Finney, they don't look like they want him,” Thomson added.
His fellow gastheer McCarthy responded and said it is the reason why it is the fight to make.