UFC lightweight and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler has nothing but praise for Contender series alumnus and wrestler extraordinaire Bo Nickal. Chandler told MMAJunkie that he was very impressed with Nickal’s showing, and offered the young fighter some advice ahead of Nickal’s promotional debut at UFC 282.
“He has been very impressive thus far. I think he’s got the right mentality. I think he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He was always that guy. He had that reputation inside college wrestling. He was a good guy, worked hard, a part of a good team who had a good moral compass, who knew right from wrong. He knew how to keep it clean off the mat, but keep it freaking crazy on the mat and just beat people down.
Michael Chandler’s Advice for Bo Nickal
So, I think he’s got a very, very bright future. Do I think he’s going to be champion? I’ve been around this sport long enough to know that there’s been so many guys that I thought were going to be so great and they end up fizzling out, and there’s some guys that I thought were going to be average end up being world beaters and champions. You don’t ever quite know.
Long and short of it, it’s refreshing to see a high-level wrestler coming in. I’m excited to see Bo Nickal’s future.” Bo Nickal has yet to make his UFC debut, but the decorated wrestler is widely tipped as MMA’s next big thing. He finished his last opponent on the Contender series in only 52 seconds. The best thing he can do at this stage, says Chandler, is continue to keep a “white belt mentality”.
“Think about your 32-year-old self, not the 22-year-old self. Think about being here for the long haul. Think about the decisions that you make today and the delayed gratification you can engage in that will someday pay off into as I said, where your reputation and your platform intersect.
Build that good reputation, build that good platform. Make yourself an indispensable asset with your promotion, with your team, with your sponsors. Be a person of good reputation, and everything else will take care of itself. He’s already got the talent, he’s already got the abilities. He’s got the coaching, he’s got the hype behind him.
“Now it’s just about navigating, keeping your nose to the grindstone, keeping yourself, your ego in check, and continuing to keep a white belt mentality. A walk-on mentality, as I said.”
Is Michael Chandler right about Bo Nickal? Let us know in the comments.
