Bo Nickal hasn’t even made his UFC debut, but he only needed 52 seconds to dispatch his latest opponent on Dana White’s Contender series. With a freshly signed UFC contract out of the way, the accomplished wrestler went straight for one of the hottest names in the sport: Khamzat Chimaev, the surging Swede gunning for welterweight gold. Failing that, he’ll take Logan Paul.
“If the UFC wishes, give me that Swedish dude. He might not even be the best guy, because he can’t even make weight, but if that’s the case, I’ll take him.
This UFC Prospect Just Called Out Khamzat AND Logan Paul… Dana White Reacts
If not, then give me Logan Paul. UFC debut. Me vs. Logan Paul, I know he has some skills. If we can’t do it in the UFC, let’s do it in the WWE. I’ll meet you in the ring.”
These callouts owe as much to Nickal’s wrestling pedigree – he trains alongside AEW heel Dan Lambert – as to his promising MMA career. Regardless, powerhouse wrestling like Nickal’s is what has led Khamzat Chimaev to such success, and Nickal is clearly feeling confident ahead of his UFC debut.
UFC president Dana White, however, does not want his prospects putting the cart before the horse. “Let’s not get crazy here. It’s funny, we were in matchmaking today, and we were talking about Khamzat and possibilities and how f****** good that guy really is.
You don’t test him against ranked talent. You bring him in just like you would bring in any prospect. You build him up, give him fights.
The problem is, there’s no easy fights here. This isn’t like the boxing model. But he walked into a show where there’s no easy fights. Everybody here are killers. So if you perform the way that you performed here twice – there’s some guys that come in here and it’s a rough go. There’s wars, and they’ll squeak out a win at the end. This guy came out and dominated twice.”
Bo Nickal is a long way from facing Khamzat Chimaev, who seems poised for welterweight gold in the near future. If, however, he can work his way up the UFC rankings with dominant performances like those he showed on the Contender series, Nickal may well get his wish. Over the past few years, the 170-pound division has been dominated by wrestlers like Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and now Khamzat Chimaev. Nickal vs Chimaev may well be the next generation’s definitive top-flight rivalry.
Do you think we’ll eventually see Bo Nickal take on Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments.
