When ͏Khamzat͏ Chimaev decimated R͏obert Whittaker in͏ the very f͏irst r͏ound ͏at͏ UFC 308,͏ the ͏MMA commun͏ity v͏i͏ewed Bo Nickal as a potential ma͏tch͏ for the ͏Chechen w͏arrior. However, t͏he eve͏n͏ts of UFC͏ 309 ͏have shi͏fted ͏those p͏er͏ceptio͏ns. Wh͏ile Bo Nickal successfully d͏efea͏t͏ed P͏aul Crai͏g to ͏maintain his und͏efeated͏ record,͏ ͏it͏ has certainly removed him from the list of fighters who͏ cou͏ld eventually chall͏enge and defeat Chima͏ev in the near fu͏ture͏. Accordin͏g to Chael ͏So͏nnen, Nickal still ͏has a ͏lot ͏to learn and i͏mprove.

While having a conversation with his audience on social media, Chael Sonnen emphasized that he did not really enjoy Bo Nickal’s performance specifically due to the fact that he was supposed to dominate Paul Craig inside the Octagon but the exact opposite happened, “I’m not happy with Bo because to watch Bo concede to Paul Craig was infuriating to me. Bo looked good—he did look like a guy who’s become a very good kickboxer in the gym, that’s true,” said Chael Sonnen.

He further added, “But the discussion of Bo going into a fast-track title shot, Bo and Khamzat Chimaev being side by side—those days are done. Four-time world champion in wrestling doesn’t do one damn bit of wrestling because somebody got a hold of him and said, “You are not ready to go to the ground with this guy.” Well, how the f– would we know? How in the f– would we know that?

Chael Sonnen argues that he has witnessed Nickal’s incredible journey for a very long time. He stated, “Now, I watched Bo beat a world champion for the first time when he was 15 years old. He was a boy. He brought everything he knows and took it to a world champion. I watched him do it under the lights. He didn’t bring his greatest tools because somebody told him, ‘You are putting the other guy in his favorite position.'” 

Acc͏ording to Chael Sonn͏en, Bo Nickal ͏should listen to his i͏n͏ne͏r voice rather than ͏taking advice from everyone͏ and trying to inc͏orpo͏rate͏ it into his game. While all of ͏this ͏criticism can͏ b͏e͏ ͏ta͏ken as ͏constructive advice, it seems that, for Bo Nicka͏l, it has had the opposite effect͏.

Bo Nickal doesn’t care about Daniel Cormier’s criticism

Daniel Cormier and Bo Nickal come from the same background, both being wrestlers who transitioned to MMA with promising careers. However, when Cormier witnessed Nickal’s performance at UFC 309, something broke inside the heart of the former dual-weight champion. According to Cormier, Nickal could have finished the fight much sooner than expected, but his own actions prolonged the match until the final round. Well, this criticism doesn’t mean anything to Nickal who is quite happy after his performance.

“When I watched the fight back, something that was a little disappointing was the commentary and just kinda hearing the way they were looking at the fight. It made me feel like they didn’t really know what was going on. Anybody that I’ve talked to, the people that I trust and shoot straight with me, they’re like ‘Dude, you shut that guy out, total domination, it was a flawless victory,” said Nickal in a conversation with the media.

He further added, “To hear things like ‘DC’ say, ‘Oh, he’s not ready for Khamzat’ — I think he was trying to be respectful, but also trying to like, I dunno, maybe set me down a peg. It was just weird to hear. But I just feel like that people that I know, that are in my corner and would give me honest, genuine feedback, they’re very happy with the victory. I was very happy with the victory, so that’s what I really care about at the end of the day. But it was a little disappointing to hear some of those comments from people I respect a lot.”

Bo Nickal won that bout by way of unanimous decision, however, according to some fans, the wrestler could have finished the match way sooner but his actions let him down. Regardless, what’s your take on the situation? State your thoughts in the comments below.