Bo Nickal endured a humiliating defeat against Reinier de Ridder at the UFC Des Moines co-main event, derailing his hype train in the promotion. Nickal’s defeat was made even more stinging after his rival dominated him at his own game.
However, the Colorado native hasn’t lost hope after his defeat. Recently, Nickal implied that he would certainly get to his targeted spot at the top of the middleweight division in the future. He also mentioned how he would respond to fans who are deriding him after his setback.
Bo Nickal Intends to School His Critics Once He Gets to the Top
Bo Nickal stepped into the UFC Des Moines Octagon with a perfect pro-MMA and UFC record of 7-0. Nickal’s high-level wrestling helped him win three of his four UFC encounters preceding his UFC Des Moines fight. However, the 29-year-old’s most-trusted skill couldn’t help him much against De Ridder on May 3.
The fight between the two went to the ground soon after its beginning. However, De Ridder looked more dominant on the ground than his multiple-time NCAA Division I champion rival. De Ridder’s size advantage also helped his cause as Nickal looked visibly gassed after the first round.
De Ridder planted the final nail in Nickal’s coffin shortly after the beginning of the second round of the fight. A knee to the mid-section crumbled Nickal on the canvas, causing the referee to mark the end of the bout.
Nickal endured a lot of criticism from the fanbase after picking up his first-ever pro-MMA defeat against De Ridder at UFC Des Moines. However, even after this setback, the American Top Team associate held his spirits high.
Nickal addressed the issue of his loss against De Ridder in the latest episode of his podcast on his self-titled YouTube channel. He mentioned noticing all the negativity towards him after he endured his first pro-MMA loss against De Ridder. Still, the three-time NCAA Division I champion also mentioned that he would “spit” on all those fans’ faces after achieving his desired goal of getting to the “top” of his division.
“Say what you want, but when I get back on top, and I’m the freaking champion of the world, you’ll all come crawling back. And I’ll spit right on your face”, said Nickal.
Nickal was also criticized by Dricus Du Plessis, the champion in his regular weight class. The reigning middleweight king implied that Nickal needs to limit his brashness and develop a more well-rounded approach to reap better results in the future.